EDINBURGH — Workers at Rockstar Games are seeking official union recognition and are collaborating with the IWGB Game Workers Union. This action follows the dismissal of 31 union members by Rockstar Games in October 2024.

The IWGB is challenging these dismissals through an employment tribunal, with a final hearing scheduled for September 2025. The tribunal will determine if the workers were unlawfully fired due to trade union activities. Rockstar Games stated that the workers were dismissed for sharing confidential information, including specific game features from upcoming titles, in a public forum. The company said this breached company policy and legal obligations and stated that claims linking these dismissals to union membership or activities are false.

Former employee Jordan Garland, who worked at the company for 11 years before his dismissal, commented on the situation. "We hope Rockstar voluntarily recognises the union; we are inviting Rockstar to meet us and make it a celebration of people who make the games possible," Garland said. He stated, "The move to unionisation was to ensure this sort of thing never happens again, not just at Rockstar but anywhere in the industry." Garland also said, "Partly that is down to how the games are marketed and sold to consumers, the people who make them are not necessarily part of the conversation or the marketing." He added, "There have been many large acquisitions of smaller studios by big companies, who have so called ?streamlined? things."

Shanti Easton-Steel, production coordinator at Rockstar North, addressed the union's efforts. "It?s thanks to the hard work of so many of our members ? both those currently with us and those who were fired last October ? that we are now in a strong enough position to pursue formal recognition," Easton-Steel said. She added, "Whilst it?s painful that our dismissed colleagues are not here to share this milestone moment, the best way we can honour their contribution now is by succeeding in the fight they helped us to start, and making them proud to have been a part of it."

Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB, indicated that the union has grown stronger despite the dismissals. "Many people assumed that Rockstar dismissing 31 union members last year would weaken organising at the company ? but in fact the union is now stronger than ever," Marshall said. He also stated, "Rockstar bosses can easily afford to sit around the table with the people whose hard work created these games, and give them a meaningful voice in their workplace."

Why It Matters

Formal union recognition for workers at Rockstar Games would establish official channels for collective bargaining with management, providing union representatives and members with additional workplace protections and rights. The ongoing employment tribunal regarding the dismissal of 31 union members indicates a dispute over the reasons for termination, with the union alleging unlawful firing due to trade union activity. The release of Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for November 2025.