Coming into 2025, you might've thought that the most significant stories surrounding Rockstar would be to do with Grand Theft Auto VI's development, potential (and now confirmed) delays, or just anything else Grand Theft Auto VI related, that's not where we're landing as the year comes to a close. Instead, the most significant story is the accusations of union busting that have been thrown at Rockstar, and the protests taking place by the fired workers and their former colleagues at Rockstar.
Now, for a second time, the matter has come up in the UK's parliament, with Liberal Democrat member of Parliament, Christine Jardine, being the first to bring it up, and the second being Scottish Labour MP Chris Murray, who directly asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the issue.
Spotted by GamesIndustry.Biz, Murray, who is the MP for the constituency where Rockstar North is located in Scotland, brought the issue to parliament after having already spoken to Rockstar. Based on the conversation he had, Murray said that the company "failed to reassure me they are following employment law, and I share concerns about union-busting," which adds fuel to the fired employees' and IWGB (Independent Workers of Great Britain) union-busting accusations.
Murray then asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer, "Does the Prime Minister agree, all companies, regardless of profit size, must follow UK employment law, and all workers have the right to join a union?"
Starmer responded, "Well, it's a deeply concerning case. Every worker has the right to join a trade union, and we're determined to strengthen workers' rights and ensure they don't face unfair consequences for being part of a union. Ministers will look into the particular case that he [Murray] raises and keep him updated."
This whole saga began last month, with Rockstar suddenly firing 34 employees and being accused of union-busting in the process. Rockstar first tried to deny the union-busting accusations by claiming the fired developers had leaked confidential information. That claim has been directly refuted by the IWGB, other union members at Rockstar, and employees speaking up anonymously.
The IWGB has issued legal claims against Rockstar based on evidence it is collecting to support its union-busting accusations, and to make matters look even worse for Rockstar, a recent report seems to reveal that the 'confidential information' Rockstar claimed employees were leaking doesn't trace back to a host of GTA VI information.
Instead, it traces back to a Discord server that was set up nearly four years ago for union members at Rockstar to discuss work conditions and union issues, and the alleged leak was just employees in that server discussing changes to Rockstar's internal Slack policies.
According to the report, it is a private server that can only be accessed by IWGB members, union members at Rockstar, and employees at Rockstar who are interested in joining the union. All members are vetted before they join the server, with the only potential point of issue being that there are reports of employees who have left Rockstar remaining in the server.
It's still unclear as to how this issue will end. As it stands, the fired workers are just asking to be reinstated. There are no egregious requests; they simply want to return to work and help their colleagues see Grand Theft Auto VI across the finish line. Of course, Rockstar could try continuing to ignore the problem and hope it goes away, or if a fine does come down on their heads, pay it with the pocket change that falls out of GTA Online every month.
Hopefully, that's not how things conclude, and we see the fired workers return to work, if not before the end of the year, then sometime soon in 2026. Particularly because, though Rockstar's executives might wish it would, the protests outside the Rockstar and Take-Two offices, and the accusations, do not seem to be stopping anytime soon. In addition, a source speaking to Wccftech told us, in no uncertain terms, that the protests "will not stop" until the fired employees are back to work.
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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