American video game company Rockstar Games has terminated dozens of employees in the United Kingdom and Canada, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports. While Rockstar claims the employees were released due to misconduct, a British trade union alleges the staffers were fired to thwart unionization attempts. Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of games publisher Take-Two Interactive, reportedly released “between 30 and 40 staffers” on Thursday, Oct. 30.
According to a spokesperson for the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), all terminated employees participated in a private trade union Discord chat, were active union members, or were attempting to organize.
News of the firings comes seven months ahead of GTA VI‘s long-awaited launch, though this isn’t the studio’s first controversy this year. On May 2, Rockstar announced it would delay the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, bumping its release from Fall 2025 to May 2026. A few months later, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick dodged questions about the upcoming game’s retail value during an earnings call, adding more fuel to growing worries about rising prices in gaming and consumer technology.
IWGB Issues Formal Statement
“Rockstar has just carried out one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry,” IWGB President Alex Marshall wrote in a formal statement shared on Halloween, Oct. 31. “This flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions is an insult to their fans and the global industry.” Marshall claims some dismissed employees held “visas sponsored by Rockstar” and others with ongoing medical concerns “will lose access to essential workplace healthcare schemes.”
Rockstar Games’ upcoming GTA franchise entry, Grand Theft Auto VI, is scheduled to release on May 26, 2026. The eighth mainline game — no, not the sixth — is expected to shatter existing industry sales and playership records. The firings, juxtaposed with GTA VI‘s expected $10 billion in revenue, are part of “a flagrant attack on workers’ rights,” says Spring McParlin-Jones, IWGB Game Workers Union Chair. The move “sends a very clear and shocking message to the world, that money matters more than people,” McParlin-Jones adds.
Take-Two Doubles Down
Alan Lewis, Head of Global Communications at Take-Two Interactive, maintains that the employees in question were terminated “for gross misconduct, and for no other reason.”
“We strive to make the world’s best entertainment properties by giving our best-in-class creative teams positive work environments and ongoing career opportunities. Our culture is focused on teamwork, excellence, and kindness. Rockstar Games terminated a small number of individuals for gross misconduct, and for no other reason. As always, we fully support Rockstar’s ambitions and approach.”
The very first GTA VI trailer, released on Dec. 4, 2023, has been viewed more than 267 million times. Rockstar shared a second, slightly longer GTA VI trailer five months ago; Trailer 2 has been watched over 137 million times since its upload to YouTube in May.
Grand Theft Auto VI is set to release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on May 26, 2026.
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