3 articlesAfter company Rockstar Games fired more than 30 developers on October 31, the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) has decided to issue formal legal claims on grounds of alleged union busting.
On October 31, Rockstar Games dismissed more than 30 GTA 6 developers, and days after that, the company delayed the release date of the game, again, this time pushing it to November 19, 2026.
It was alleged that Rockstar Games terminated the employees due to the involved members trying to unionize after it was revealed they were part of a private trade union chat group in Discord.
However, Rockstar denied the allegations, claiming that they instead fired said employees due to them distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum.
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The IWGB didn’t believe Rockstar’s claims. For them, it was an unfair dismissal which they “believe amounts to victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity.”
In a statement, IWGB revealed that they made several attempts to negotiate with Rockstar Games to resolve the situation.
However, Rockstar has declined any attempt at negotiation and insisted on terminating the employees involved.
“Despite our representation and attempts to meet with Rockstar to resolve the matter through negotiation, Rockstar has declined and persisted in terminating members of the union in a manner that is unacceptable and unlawful,” said the IWGB legal team.
Rockstar Games Now Facing Legal Claims After Dismissing Employees
IWGB president Alex Marshall stated that they will “mount a full legal defense with our expert group of caseworkers, legal officers and barristers.”
It can be recalled that Rockstar’s firings of more than 30 employees were due to “gross misconduct, and for no other reason”, as their representatives clarified.
However, the trade union agreed with some of the fired employees that they were instead fired for trying to unionize. This is after IWGB stated that some of the terminated individuals were part of the union.
They mention that the legal claims that they’ll potentially receive will go toward seeking financial compensation for those affected by the dismissal.
Just this week, People Make Games reported that prior to the dismissal, the Rockstar Games Workers’ Union (a collective of workers) managed to recruit 10% of Rockstar’s UK workforce.
This is part of the requirements so they can apply for statutory recognition in the UK. If it were approved, Rockstar would be forced by the UK government to recognize the union.
However, the union’s announcement was cut short after Rockstar fired some of its employees, the majority of whom were part of the union.
As of now, only time will tell how this legal battle between IWGB and Rockstar Games will play out.
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