Rockstar Games vs. the Union: Protests and the Company’s Response

Over the past week, the story of the layoffs of three dozen Rockstar Games employees has taken an unusual turn — one we’ve never seen before.

Support came from another union — the American SAG-AFTRA, which represents over 170,000 actors, voice artists, journalists, and other media professionals. Its members were behind one of the largest strikes in film industry history.

Another UK-based organization, United Tech & Allied Workers (UTAW), has joined forces with the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB). Together, they’ve managed to attract the attention of the public, the media, and even politicians.

They used the most effective method — protests. Demonstrations took place on the morning of Thursday, November 6, outside Rockstar North headquarters in Edinburgh and Take-Two offices in London. Union activists, former employees, and supporters gathered there. The protest, initially planned to last an hour, went on for more than two. Participants took a creative approach, referencing Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead memes on their posters.

But of course, the protesters weren’t there just for witty posters. Their demands are simple: reinstate the laid-off employees and stop interfering with union activity — which, incidentally, is illegal.

In the Scottish capital, Green Party member Ross Greer, one of the politicians currently serving in Parliament, joined the rally. He promised to raise the issue at the highest levels, noting that Rockstar is one of the most successful studios in the world, with a direct impact on the country’s economy and culture. He also emphasized that it’s the regular employees — not the executives — who make that success possible.

And what about R*? According to journalist Jason Schreier, a company spokesperson said the dismissed staff were allegedly involved in leaks of confidential information about GTA 6.

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. This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.

That prompted a natural question from IWGB: “What leaks?”

Indeed, it’s unclear what specific leaks those employees are supposedly linked to. If we look only at the real — not fabricated — ones, there have been few. The biggest breach was caused by a young hacker; a brief gameplay snippet was allegedly shared by the son of Aaron Garbut, one of Scptland branch key figures; and an old screenshot came from San Diego — not from the UK or Canada, where the layoffs actually occurred.

Finally, one current employee and union member, speaking anonymously, said that 34 of his colleagues — including artists, animators, testers, designers, and even senior programmers — received termination notices without being shown any proof of wrongdoing or offered compensation. The roughly 200 remaining union members now fear that if Rockstar management faces no consequences, they could be next.

Meanwhile, reports are emerging that Rockstar London PR and communications staff are also leaving the company. Details remain unclear.