As union members protest the recent firing of Rockstar employees, Take-Two states that those affected were guilty of leaking classified info.

With just six months left until the launch of GTA 6, developer Rockstar Games has now found itself in the centre of a controversy. Not regarding the game itself, though, but for firing some of its employees.

Last week, per a Bloomberg report, Rockstar was said to have fired 30 to 40 members of staff across its UK and Canada offices for what was only described as ‘gross misconduct, and for no other reason.’

However, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) alleges that Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive are actually guilty of union busting and as such has organised protests to demand reinstatement.

It’s said that all the affected employees were members of a private union trade group on Discord and were either also members of the IWGB or were at least trying to unionise within Rockstar.

The IWGB describes Rockstar’s actions as ‘one of the most shameless instances of union-busting,’ calling for action across its social media channels, including TikTok.

‘Rockstar, makers of GTA, have crossed the red line. … They’ve done this for no other reason but to try to terrorise and silence staff. Not only is this illegal, but this is also a complete attack on workers’ rights and peoples’ well-being,’ says an IWGB representative.

One of two protests took place earlier this morning outside Take-Two’s London office, with more TikTok videos showing union members chanting, ‘What’s disgusting? Union busting.’

According to the union’s Instagram page, a second protest is scheduled to take place later today from 1pm to 2pm outside Rockstar’s office in Edinburgh.

UPDATE

IWGB president Alex Marshall has since commented on this morning’s London protest, telling Metro it ‘saw so many people from across the games sector and beyond stand up in defiance against this disgusting attempt to crush worker unity.

‘We want to assure Take-Two and Rockstar that today’s action was only just the start. If they plan to dig their heels in on the most egregious union busting the sector’s ever seen, then they can get used to seeing us on their doorstep – we will not stop coming back until we get justice for these workers.’

Original story continues

These protests coincide with a new update from Take-Two, which now says the employees were fired because they had been leaking company secrets to outsiders.

‘Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies,’ a Take-Two spokesperson tells Bloomberg.

They also deny the allegations made by the IWGB, adding, ‘This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.’

Take-Two and Rockstar no doubt feel extra protective about GTA 6 when it’s already suffered big leaks in the past. For instance, plot details regarding the game’s Bonnie and Clyde inspired protagonists were reported on as early as 2022.

Then, later that year, there was the infamous hacking incident where someone managed to steal a significant amount of prototype footage of GTA 6 and shared it online.

In late 2023, GTA 6’s reveal trailer leaked online, forcing Rockstar to share an official upload earlier than planned.

Last year, Rockstar chose to end its work from home policy for ‘productivity and security reasons,’ demanding employees return to working in the office five days a week.

This decision was criticised by the IWGB at the time, which called it ‘reckless’ and accused Rockstar of breaking its promises that flexible work options would remain available.

GTA 6 is scheduled to launch on May 26 (Rockstar)

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