Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar Games has been accused of union-busting after terminating the contracts of 30-40 staff, all of whom were purportedly involved in union activities. Rockstar claims they were fired for gross misconduct.
According to Bloomberg, the developers – employed in multiple disciplines and offices across Canada and the UK – had been part of a private union chat group on Discord and were allegedly either already in the union, or planning to organise at the company.
Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis told Bloomberg the developers were fired for “gross misconduct, and for no other reason”, adding “[Take-Two] fully support[s] Rockstar’s ambitions and approach”.
“Rockstar has just carried out one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry,” said president of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), Alex Marshall.
“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.”
Rockstar has not commented publicly on the firings or accusations of union busting.
Earlier this week, Take-Two Interactive boss Strauss Zelnick returned to the subject of AI, this time suggesting the controversial technology could never create anything like GTA 6 because “no creativity… can exist by definition in any AI model.”
