Grand Theft Auto 6 has finally locked its 19th November release date and pre-orders are now open. It should be cause for celebration, but with the lack of a proper physical release and after the firing of employees last year (a move considered to be “union-busting” by former and current staff), Rockstar Games is getting as much bad attention as it is good. Now, the workers union coming together at the studio is taking its efforts a step further.
In late May, we learned Rockstar Games workers were officially launching a union – fittingly called Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU) – as “a subsidiary of the wider Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB)” as the latter prepared to take Rockstar to court. The ongoing legal battle heated up again this month when a tribunal ruled against the developer’s request to remove blacklisting claims from the process.
Today, The Guardian is adding fuel to the fire with new developments. As it stands, it’s reported current employees at Rockstar Games “are working with the IWGB Game Workers Union to try to secure unionisation” before GTA 6‘s November release. The piece adds that pre-orders might have already pushed the game past $3bn (£2.27bn), putting the game well on its way to achieve its expected financial performance. “Rockstar bosses can easily afford to sit around the table with the people whose hard work created these games, and give them a meaningful voice in their workplace,” said Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB.
The move to properly establish a union could make Rockstar the second UK game developer with a recognised union after ZA/UM (Zero Parades) achieved that goal in late 2025. “We hope Rockstar voluntarily recognises the union; we are inviting Rockstar to meet us and make it a celebration of people who make the games possible,” said Jordan Garland, an ex-employee who was let go after working at Rockstar for 11 years.
The Guardian’s report also adds that a strike could happen “to ensure the union is recognised” if the voluntary route is ignored by the leadership. Shanti Easton-Steel, production coordinator at Rockstar North, added: “Whilst it’s painful that our dismissed colleagues are not here to share this milestone moment, the best way we can honour their contribution now is by succeeding in the fight they helped us to start, and making them proud to have been a part of it.”
