Thirty-one people who spent years helping shape one of the most anticipated games of the decade found their working lives ended in a matter of minutes, some escorted from their desks and others reached by a two-minute phone call. Now the question of whether that ending was lawful, and whether a studio kept lists of names to shut out those who had organised, moves into a Glasgow tribunal room where the claims will be tested rather than merely told. The matter sits at an old and uneasy meeting point, where creative ambition, the pressure of a looming launch, and the rights of workers to speak to
Rockstar faces Glasgow tribunal over dismissal of 31 GTA 6 staff, union alleges blacklisting and union targeting
31 employees lost their jobs with immediate effect, escorted from the building or locked out of work accounts after brief phone calls.
"Grand Theft Employment Rights" — the union's charge against Rockstar
Mark
Start with the basics. What is actually being decided in Glasgow?
Mimi
Whether 31 people who worked on Grand Theft Auto 6 were unfairly dismissed last October. The union says they were targeted for union activity and fired without a disciplinary process or right of appeal.
Luke
Worth saying plainly: those are the IWGB's allegations. The reporting doesn't include a response from Rockstar, only that it was contacted for comment.
Mark
And the blacklisting claim? That seems like the heavier charge.
Mimi
It is. The union says Rockstar compiled and used lists of the employees' names to discriminate against them. Rockstar applied to have that removed, and a judge refused in June.
Luke
Careful with what that ruling means, though. Refusing to strike it out isn't a finding that it's true. It only means the claim gets heard.
Mark
What about how the dismissals happened?
Mimi
The union describes meetings and escorts out of the building for those in the office, and two-minute phone calls followed by locked accounts for those who weren't.
Luke
That's the union's description too, and the word "allegedly" attaches to the phone-call part. Nothing here independently confirms the details.
Mark
Is there anything beyond the tribunal?
Mimi
Yes, negotiations over formal recognition of working conditions, including pay transparency, overtime and flexible working. The case sits next to that, not instead of it.
Luke
And we don't know how those talks are going. The source says they're ongoing, nothing about progress or outcome.
Il Polso
- Thirty-one staff on Grand Theft Auto 6 were dismissed with immediate effect, escorted from buildings or cut off by phone within minutes.
- The union alleges the dismissals were punishment for organising, carried out with no disciplinary process and no right of appeal.
- A blacklisting claim, that names were compiled and used to exclude workers, survived a bid to strike it out and will be heard in full.
- Hearings open in Glasgow on 10 September and run to 16 October, while stalled talks over pay transparency and overtime remain unresolved.
- With the game due in November and the studio still silent on the allegations, every week of testimony adds pressure on both sides.
Thirty-one people who spent years helping shape one of the most anticipated games of the decade found their working lives ended in a matter of minutes, some escorted from their desks and others reached by a two-minute phone call. Now the question of whether that ending was lawful, and whether a studio kept lists of names to shut out those who had organised, moves into a Glasgow tribunal room where the claims will be tested rather than merely told. The matter sits at an old and uneasy meeting point, where creative ambition, the pressure of a looming launch, and the rights of workers to speak together have collided. What the tribunal decides will say something about how far those rights are expected to bend when the stakes are high.
On the day the dismissals came, according to the union representing the affected workers, staff in Rockstar Games' office were called into meetings, told they were fired on the spot, and walked out of the building. Those working elsewhere received calls lasting about two minutes, after which their access to work accounts was cut off.
The case now heads to the Glasgow Employment Tribunal, with hearings running from 10 September to 16 October. The Independent Workers of Great Britain says the 31 people dismissed last October, all working on Grand Theft Auto 6, were targeted for their union activity and let go without any disciplinary process or right of appeal. Rockstar has not been quoted responding to these claims, and the company was contacted for comment.
The most serious allegation is that the Edinburgh-based studio compiled and used lists of employees' names to discriminate against them, which the union describes as blacklisting. An attempt by Rockstar to have that claim removed failed in June, so it will be heard.
Alex Marshall, the IWGB's president, said the union hopes the tribunal will expose what he called an attempt to get away with "Grand Theft Employment Rights". Meanwhile, the union and the company remain in talks over working conditions for games developers, including pay transparency, overtime and flexible working. Whether those talks move while the tribunal sits is now one of the things to watch.
On the day the dismissals came, according to the union that represents the affected workers, staff who were in Rockstar Games' office were called into meetings, told they were being fired with immediate effect, and escorted out of the building. Those who were not on the premises, the union says, were told by phone in calls lasting around two minutes, then locked out of their work accounts.
That account is at the center of a case due before the Glasgow Employment Tribunal. The Independent Workers of Great Britain, an independent trade union, says Rockstar will appear from 10 September, with the hearing running until 16 October. At issue is the dismissal last October of 31 people who had been working on Grand Theft Auto 6, the latest game in the studio's blockbuster series.
The IWGB makes several allegations. It says the 31 were "targeted for their union activities." It also says the way they were let go was unlawful, carried out without a disciplinary process or a right of appeal. These are the union's claims, and Rockstar has not been quoted responding to them in the reporting; the company was contacted for comment.
A further allegation is the most serious. The union says the Edinburgh-based studio compiled and used lists of the employees' names for the purpose of discriminating against them, which amounts, in effect, to blacklisting. Rockstar tried to have those allegations removed from the claim, but in an interim ruling in June a judge struck out that application. The blacklisting claim therefore remains part of what the tribunal will hear.
The legal fight runs alongside separate talks. The IWGB and Rockstar are in ongoing negotiations over formal recognition of working conditions for games developers. In June, the union said it was calling on the company to address pay transparency, overtime expectations and flexible working arrangements.
Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB, framed the case sharply. "We believe Rockstar has tried to get away with Grand Theft Employment Rights," he said. "After a year of fighting to get answers, we hope this tribunal will finally back them into a corner and bring the truth to light."
The timing is awkward for the studio. Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be the most successful video game launch of the decade and is due for release in November, following delays in the release of official updates. In August, Rockstar issued a statement about a series of leaked videos of the game, a week after the clips first appeared without comment from the company. It called the leaks "heartbreaking" for a team that had spent around eight years on the game, and said it was "not how we intended for you to see the game after all this time."
What to watch now is the tribunal itself, which sits for about five weeks from 10 September, and whether the talks on working conditions move while it does. The blacklisting claim, now cleared to proceed, is the part likely to draw the closest scrutiny.
Citazioni salienti
We believe Rockstar has tried to get away with Grand Theft Employment Rights. After a year of fighting to get answers, we hope this tribunal will finally back them into a corner and bring the truth to light.— Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB
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