Trade unionists have accused Rockstar Games, the developer of Grand Theft Auto, of “blatant” union-busting after dozens of staff were fired last month.
Members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) picketed outside Rockstar’s building in Edinburgh and that of parent company Take-Two Interactive in London on Thursday to protest the firings, which they said targeted 31 union members across the UK and Canada on 30 October.
Take-Two said the staff members had been fired for disclosing confidential information.
‘Misconduct’
“Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies,” the company said in a statement.
“This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”
Take-Two said the staff members were fired for “gross misconduct” on
The union said all of those fired were members of a private Discord chat group where the only non-Rockstar staff were labour organisers, disputing Take-Two’s characterisation of the discussions as “public”.
“We refute that confidential information was shared publicly,” the IWGB said.
The union, the first to organise video-game workers in the UK, called the firings “one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry”.
Confidentiality
Union membership is a protected activity in the UK, but staff in the gaming industry are routinely required to sign non-disclosure agreements, making it difficult to investigate working conditions.
Rockstar was hit in 2022 by a massive leak of material related to its upcoming game Grand Theft Auto VI and has since increased security precautions.
The delayed game is currently scheduled for release in May and is expected to be one of the best-selling titles of all time.
