'Grand Theft Auto' Studio Accused of Union Busting After Firing Dozens

"Rockstar Games fired dozens of employees," reports Bloomberg, "in a move that a British trade union said was designed to prevent the workers from unionizing. The company said they were fired for misconduct." TheGrand Theft Automaker terminatedbetween 30 and 40 staffersacross multipleoffices in the UK and Canada on Thursday, according to aspokesperson for the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB). All of the employees were part of a private trade union chat groupon Discord and were either members of the union or attempting to organize at the company, the union spokesperson said.

"Rockstar has just carried out one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry," Alex Marshall, president of theIWGB, said in a statement. "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."
On BlueSky the IWGB union posted "We won't back down, and we're not scared — we will fight for every member to be reinstated."

Bloomberg notes that Grand Theft Auto VIis slated for release on May 26, 2026, "and is expected to be one of the top-selling video games of all time."

Loathing

[Kokuyo]

It's not so much that they engage in morally corrupt and outright illegal practices... Corporations, I mean...

No, it's the blatant disregard for our intelligence they display in the reasonings and excuses they give that makes me hate them so much.

Re:

[LainTouko]

A lot of the time when you hear some complete bullshit reasoning from the powerful like this, it's not supposed to be either an attempt to engage with reality or an attempt to convince anyone, it's more like a social cohesion mantra for their friend group. This friend group is typically powered by shared interests and collusion amongst its rich and powerful members, and its less powerful members dealing with their fears and insecurities by identifying with something which projects strength.

Re:

[roman_mir]

May I ask why you call firing people morally corrupt? Illegal, according to some artificial definitions of what is supposed to be the law, which is a system designed to force behaviors, maybe. But morally corrupt? Please explain, I really do not get it, absolutely don't understand what is morally corrupt about firing people that you don't want to work with because any reasons whatsoever. If it is your business, you should be able to fire anyone, it's not about morality, it is purely, completely a monetar

Re: Donald Trump is president. Again.

[ArmoredDragon]

What on earth gives you the idea that this has anything to do with Trump?

Re:

[rsilvergun]

Well there was the whole complete disregard for our intelligence.

My point was pretty clear. Basically our rulers can safely disregard our intelligence because we keep proving how fucking stupid we are over and over and over again by electing Republicans to fix the economy after they break it.

Definition of insanity.

Re:

[thrasher thetic]

Cool. I feel the same way about unions.

Re:GTA 6 is made for GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS - GAYYYY

[fluffernutter]

At one time I would have said, only 20 more years or so and humans will progress to the point that everyone will understand that a kid is born who they are and no game will change that. That all the world does is either make them comfortable to be who they were born as or hide it for their whole lives. Now sadly I feel humans have reached their peak and are now regressing.

Re:

[skam240]

You should check in with any and every first world psychiatric association. There isn't a one that agrees with your politically driven nonsense.

Re:

[fluffernutter]

The problem is people who think there is a normal. There is no normal. Nature is random and people are born out of the randomness of nature. If you want to define something as normal than let it be embracing people as they were born instead of forcing them into an ideal.

Re:

[thrasher thetic]

The progressive worldview has been a disaster for humanity.

Re:

[fluffernutter]

If you are a person who gets too confused by shades of male and female I guess.

Also got rid of space

[Hentes]

heGrand Theft Automaker terminatedbetween 30 and 40 staffersacross multipleoffices in the UK and Canada on Thursday, according to aspokesperson for the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB).

Even worse, they also took the spacebar of the Union spokesman!

As someone who freelanced

[king*jojo]

For this company for about six minutes, surprising this is not. I mean, perhaps the culture has really changed, but I found it to be a workplace rife with 'trickle-down arrogance' (to paraphrase Reagan), and a prevailing attitude of "you should really be paying us for allowing you to work here"

At some point one has to give the reality check of "Uh guys, you make games where the player gets satisfaction from running down old ladies. With stories cobbled together from shitty gangster movies, and missions where you actively have to fight the game engine in order to complete. You can take off your berets"

Re:

[fluffernutter]

Lol true. I thought it was designed by a 15 year old boy, actually. Still fun though.

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

In common with a lot of 80s and 90s European games, the controls are a bit janky, the missions are mostly formulaic, and success or failure is often down to luck.

Except that they kept doing it into the next millennium.

San Andreas was probably where the series peaked. I tend to look at those games a lot like Doom. Revolutionary in that they defined the "sandbox criminal fun" genera, but the core game is mediocre.

some high end restaurants had the pay to work for

[Joe_Dragon]

some high end restaurants had the pay to work for tips mindset. The labor laws do not allow that!

Re:

[noshellswill]

"Unions push the cost up for everyone!" As it should be. Increased worker wages more than make up for the extra expense "entitled" buyers are willing to pay. Those priced out of that specific market ... just don't consume that product --- I mean, you have no RIGHT to consume anything , but subsistence. OTOH increased worker wages means those workers will consume more of their own production ... if the product is worthwhile --- unlike computer games/most services/EVs. More business for the company mean

Re:

[registrations_suck]

Same argument can be applied to employment. If you don't like the pay, just don't work there. You have no right to work at any particular employer.

Call it this instead:

[Sebby]

"Grand Theft Employment"

Reasonable (TM)

[invisiblefireball]

oh no we might have to pay our employees enough, well, we'd better pre-enshittify the next installments of our cashcow series

Employee Relations: UK vs. USA

[hwstar]

In the UK, fired workers have more avenues to challenge the firing than those in the USA.

In the UK, they follow the "Just Cause" employment model which means that there has to be a valid reason these workers were fired, not "Just Because". Also firing one for "Misconduct" will be a whole lot harder to prove. The UK has "Employment Tribunals" which review such cases. They are powerful and business there hate them.

In the USA, the system is "Employment At Will" which means that you can be fired for any reason (or no reason) so long as it isn't an illegal reason. The number of illegal reasons are few, and boil down to things like discrimination, religious persecution, race, and creed, among others. There is little protection against wrongful termination. Proving misconduct is somewhat harder, but some vindictive employers still try to assert an employee was fired for "Gross Misconduct" to avoid having their unemployment insurance premiums increase. If an employee is fired for Gross Misconduct, they can't receive unemployment compensation. In some states it is easier to fire someone for gross misconduct than in other states.

Re:

[LainTouko]

Employment laws in the US vary a lot from state to state.

Re:

[registrations_suck]

I prefer the U.S. system.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Sniff, sniff, sniff.

I smell either a MAGA zombie, libertarian, or a business owner in the US who prefers the current at-will system.

Re:

[newcastlejon]

In the UK, fired workers have more avenues to challenge the firing than those in the USA.

That depends on how long you've been employed there. Currently an employee has limited rights if they're sacked during the first 102 weeks of employment (yes, some rights kick in at 1 year + 51 weeks, don't ask me why). During a formal probationary period - usually six months - UK employment law is, basically, the same as US "at-will" employment. The current Labour government are in the process of removing the two year restriction for some claims for unfair dismissal, and also banning the practice of "fire

Antitrust

[RoccamOccam]

I think that I would be more sympathetic toward unions if they weren't generally exempt from Antitrust Laws in the US. Make unions compete for contracts and perhaps we'd have a better system.

Re:

[registrations_suck]

I would be sympathetic if they didn't require people to join to work at a palace and if companies were not forced to deal with them.

As it is, their existence depends on fixing others to do things. No sympathy for that.

Re:

[registrations_suck]

Forcing, not fixing.

Re:

[pjt33]

Is this in any way relevant to an article about people wanting to unionise in the UK and Canada?

Re:

[RoccamOccam]

I didn't want to ignore that I am posting from the US, with a US perspective. But, looking into it now, I see that "In the UK, trade unions are largely exempt from antitrust rules for their collective bargaining activities." So, yes, I believe my post was relevant.

Couldn't have been too serious.

[Fly Swatter]

They were on Discord...

Can't say they didn't see it coming

[RogueWarrior65]

I mean, come on, Grand Theft Auto? It's kind of on-the-nose. Did they bust the union with bats?

Re:

[newcastlejon]

I mean, come on, Grand Theft Auto? It's kind of on-the-nose.

True, but you have to admit that it's a more catchy title than Twocking. [wikipedia.org]