While Grand Theft Auo VI developer Rockstar continues to face accusations of union busting after it fired 34 employees (all union members) for the "gross misconduct" of sharing confidential information in a public forum (which, according to the union, was just coworkers talking about new work policies in a private, employee and union-member-only Discord server), at least one animator has seemingly actually crossed the line of sharing confidential information publicly.
Character animator Benjamin Chue uploaded a demo reel that was spotted online by users on Reddit, and while most of the reel includes animators Chue worked on for Red Dead Redemption 2, Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V, the first two clips in the reel appear to be from Grand Theft Auto VI.
In fairness to Chue, the first two clips are the most nondescript of the whole bunch; it's not like they uploaded final versions of these game clips, with the proper art, graphical fidelity, etc. But I can imagine, if Chue were facing the same consequences their union member coworkers did, Rockstar could make a more convincing argument that confidential information and images were shared in a public forum in this instance.
Instead of trying to argue that coworkers who are using a private Discord server that was set up to allow them to discuss their work conditions and unionizing were sharing confidential information publicly by talking about their work conditions in said server.
The two animations in question are the first two clips of the reel, the first one showing a male-presenting character renting and returning a bike, suggesting that there will be a bike rental service available to players in Grand Theft Auto VI. The second clip shows a female-presenting character jumping off the roof of a truck, which could very well be one of the game's two leads, Lucia Caminos.
Rockstar moved quickly to try to take the video down once Chue's upload had been spotted, but the internet is always faster. Subsequently, it was redownloaded and reuploaded, which means you can still find the video to watch here.
It'll be interesting to see if these animations are in the final game, where they appear, whether in gameplay or in cutscenes, since some of the other animations shown in the reel are in cutscenes in their respective games. We'll find out next November where they fall.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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