Recently, Rockstar Games issued a formal response to the controversy over the dismissal of employees, stating that the dismissal was entirely based on the employee involved leaking company secrets and had nothing to do with union activities. This statement is a direct refutation of the British Independent Workers Union's previous accusation of "suppressing trade unions".
According to a report by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, Rockstar’s official statement stated: “Last week, we took action against a small group of employees who were found to be spreading and discussing confidential information in public forums. This action was based solely on their violations of company policies and had nothing to do with employees’ rights to join a union or participate in union activities.” The dismissal involves 30-40 employees in the UK and Canadian offices.
However, the focus of the dispute is that all fired employees participated in a private union Discord chat group. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain stressed that the only external actors in the group were labor organizers. Alex Marshall, chairman of the union, responded: "Rockstar is obviously afraid that employees will discuss fighting for a fairer working environment and collective rights through private channels. This move by management shows that they do not care about the development progress of "GTA6" and will suppress the union before the rights of game developers."
This controversy broke out during a critical period when Rockstar was fully promoting the development of "GTA6". The company has long been known for its strict confidentiality. Especially after "GTA6" suffered a major leak in 2022, the company further strengthened security measures, including requiring employees to fully return to office work.
At present, the union has made it clear that it will take legal measures to safeguard their rights and strive to restore the fired employees to their positions. Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive insisted on supporting the developer's decision, emphasizing that the dismissal was only due to "serious misconduct." As Take-Two is scheduled to release its quarterly financial report on November 6, the subsequent development of this labor dispute is attracting attention.