Rockstar Games fires 34 union organisers days after workers reach collective bargaining threshold
IWGB accuses GTA studio of 'most blatant' union-busting in gaming history as fired UK workers denied legal representation
The envelope contained a single page. Employment terminated. Gross misconduct. Posts made in Discord. No evidence provided. No right to respond. Meeting over in four minutes. Security will escort you out.
Lighting artist Branimira Yordanova walked into Rockstar's Edinburgh studio last week to find her teammates huddled together. Jordan had just been fired. Then another. Then another. By day's end, 34 workers across the UK and Canada had received identical letters. Some got two-minute phone calls instead. One worker suffered a panic attack during the call. HR hung up.
Every dismissed worker belonged to the same private Discord channel—a union organising group that had, one week earlier, crossed the threshold to demand collective bargaining rights.
The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain calls it "the most blatant and ruthless act of union-busting in the history of the games industry." Rockstar insists workers were "distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum." The Discord was private. No leaks have surfaced. And that timing—seven days after hitting 200 members, the 10% needed for legal recognition—speaks louder than any corporate statement.
A week that changed everything
For months, Rockstar employees had been organising quietly. They discussed what one called "worsening crunch, inadequate pay and inflexible working arrangements." Nothing radical. They simply wanted to negotiate. When membership hit 200, they gained legal standing to force management to the table.
Management found the Discord channel first.
What followed was surgical. Senior artists with 18 years' service and spotless records received termination letters. So did animators, programmers, quality assurance testers, leads. Some were off sick. Others recovering from surgery. At least one was on paternity leave. The pattern was absolute: if you were in that channel, especially on an organising committee, you were gone.
"Those of us who remain work in fear," wrote one still-employed worker in a verified forum post. "Fearful when talking to each other at the tea prep, fearful that we're next, too scared to even acknowledge our colleagues protesting outside."
What UK law requires—and what Rockstar denied
The Employment Relations Act 1999 grants UK workers an unambiguous statutory right: union representation during disciplinary hearings. Companies must inform employees of this right, allow time to arrange representation, and permit representatives to speak on their behalf.
Rockstar provided none of this. Workers describe being summoned for "quick chats" with HR, only to receive termination letters. When they asked for union representatives, they were refused. Meetings ended in minutes. The letters cited "gross misconduct" but offered no evidence, no specifics, no opportunity for defence.
For workers not in the studio that day, the process was even more brutal: a phone call lasting under two minutes. You're fired. Letter follows. Call ends.
This isn't merely procedural failure. Denying union representation during dismissals violates fundamental legal protections. UK employment tribunals treat such violations seriously, regularly awarding compensation and ordering reinstatement. More revealing, though, is what this says about management's calculations. They knew it was illegal. They did it anyway.
A familiar pattern of promising reform
In 2018, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser casually mentioned working "100-hour weeks" during Red Dead Redemption 2's development. The backlash was immediate. Investigations revealed contractors pressured to work punishing hours or lose their contracts. Employees sleeping under desks to meet deadlines. A pervasive culture where overwork wasn't just expected—it was weaponised.
Management promised reform. They restructured departments, converted contractors to permanent staff, offered flexible scheduling and mental health benefits. Senior executive Jennifer Kolbe emailed staff in 2020 promising "steps so we can more accurately predict and schedule games" sustainably. Studio heads were replaced. Managers accused of toxicity were dismissed. By 2022, employees told reporters morale had improved. Rockstar, they said, had "done more in response to a worker revolt" than any major studio.
That narrative now lies in ruins. Seven years after promising cultural transformation, the company stands accused of systematically violating employment law to prevent workers from collectively negotiating for those very protections. Reform, it seems, meant making workers feel heard—not giving them actual power.
Extraordinary profits, disposable workers
Grand Theft Auto V has generated roughly £8-10 billion since 2013, making it the most profitable entertainment product ever created. It still earns hundreds of millions annually. GTA VI, analysts project, could make £10 billion or more.
"That's enough to end world hunger for a year," noted Spring Mcparlin-Jones, chair of IWGB Game Workers Union. "Such a flagrant attack on workers' rights from such a valuable studio sends a very clear message: money matters more than people."
The arithmetic is stark. Management apparently believes the cost of fighting unions—legal fees, tribunal awards, settlements—runs lower than the cost of bargaining with them. Workers seeking modest improvements to wages and conditions represent an unacceptable threat to profit margins that already run into the billions.
Take-Two's official response captures this perfectly: "We strive to make the world's best entertainment properties by giving our best-in-class creative teams positive work environments." Their subsidiary just fired dozens of workers whilst denying legal representation, targeting union organisers with precision, some during medical leave. The gap between rhetoric and reality has become a chasm.
The precedent that terrifies gaming's workforce
Christmas approaches. The fired workers face unemployment. Some will lose healthcare coverage. Visa holders face deportation, their right to remain tied to employment Rockstar just terminated. Years of expertise at one of gaming's most prestigious studios now becomes a liability. Will speaking out blacklist them elsewhere?
IWGB has launched legal challenges seeking reinstatement. Protests have erupted outside Take-Two's London headquarters and Rockstar North in Edinburgh. "All you had to do was follow the damn law, Rockstar!" read the placards—a bitter twist on a famous line from the games these workers helped create.
But the union's fight extends far beyond 34 individuals. If Rockstar crushes this organising effort through mass dismissals, if the financial calculation proves correct, if legal consequences remain tolerable—every other gaming studio will be watching. The industry has long resisted unionisation despite endemic crunch and job insecurity. This case will determine whether organising is merely risky or genuinely suicidal.
"This fight is critical," the anonymous employee wrote. "If Rockstar can get away with this, they will keep treating their workers with disdain."
Employment tribunals will eventually rule. The timing—one week after hitting collective bargaining thresholds—and the systematic targeting of organisers will weigh heavily. UK courts generally despise companies denying statutory representation rights. But legal victories cannot undo the message already sent: organise, and you're gone.
The workers who built worlds millions explore, who poured creativity into games generating billions, wanted only fair treatment and collective voice. Rockstar's response tells them exactly how disposable they are—regardless of the value they create, the legal protections they hold, or how desperately the industry needs their talent.
Gaming now watches to see whether that calculation holds. Whether companies can systematically violate labour law with impunity. Whether the people who build our most beloved entertainment deserve any power over the conditions of their labour.
The answer will shape gaming's future more profoundly than any trailer or release date. Those 34 workers, and hundreds more working in fear, deserve better. Whether the law can deliver it remains to be seen.