Rockstar Says 'We Stand by Our Course of Action' as Judge Rejects Fired GTA 6 Developers' Application for Interim Relief

An employment tribunal has contiguous rejected an exertion for interim alleviation filed connected behalf of the fired Grand Theft Auto 6 developers astatine Rockstar Games.

The Glasgow Employment Tribunal released the result of the proceeding today, rejecting each applications for interim relief. “We invited the decision, which is accordant with Rockstar’s presumption throughout," a Rockstar Games spokesperson told IGN. “We regret that we were enactment successful a presumption wherever dismissals were necessary, but we basal by our people of enactment arsenic supported by the result of this hearing.”

Rockstar has insisted the employees it fired precocious past twelvemonth were dismissed due to the fact that they leaked crippled features for upcoming and unannounced titles successful Discord, not due to the fact that they were trying to unionize. 34 members of unit astatine Rockstar were dismissed, 31 successful the UK and 3 successful Canada, sparking protests extracurricular the bureau of GTA 6 developer Rockstar North successful Edinburgh, Scotland, and extracurricular genitor institution Take-Two’s bureau successful London.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which had accused Rockstar of “union-busting,” asked a justice to assistance the fired GTA 6 developers interim alleviation astatine a preliminary employment tribunal proceeding held successful the UK past week. Interim alleviation is simply a ineligible mechanics that tin supply workers with enactment portion they hold for a afloat hearing. If the interim alleviation had been granted, the workers would person been enactment backmost connected Rockstar’s payroll and had their enactment visas reinstated wherever necessary.

In the ruling, Judge Eccles said that of the astir 350 members of the IWGB Discord, implicit fractional were members of the IWGB, but immoderate were nary longer employed by Rockstar Games. One subordinate was said to person written property articles astir video games, including astatine slightest 1 that commented connected Rockstar and the improvement of GTA. Judge Eccles added that due to the fact that Rockstar dismissed 3 employees successful Canada who were not members of the union, their national rank could not person been a origin successful their dismissal.

According to accusation provided to IGN by a Rockstar Games spokesperson, the ruling indicates that Judge Eccles believes that the IWGB is not “likely” to amusement that national enactment oregon rank was the crushed for their dismissal.

Lord John Hendy KC, who represents the fired developers, argued it was not “gross misconduct” to stock confidential accusation successful a radical containing outer 3rd parties, adjacent arsenic a substance of principle, but Rockstar insisted this assertion was not credible. Lord Hendy KC besides suggested determination was ‘no leak’ of information, astatine champion lone a ‘risk’ of leak. However, Rockstar said that posting confidential accusation successful a nationalist forum constitutes a 'leak’ due to the fact that that accusation was shared with radical extracurricular of Rockstar, including individuals who enactment astatine competitors and with journalists.

Rockstar has besides denied having a “blacklist” of national members, stressing that astatine the clip of the dismissals, the institution did not cognize whether the claimants were national members, truthful could not person targeted them.

And, arsenic it has said before, Rockstar employees themselves raised concerns to the institution and granted representatives entree to the “social” channel, not the Discord transmission utilized for authoritative national organizing. As IGN has besides reported, Rockstar has claimed that the national transmission mods didn’t cognize who was successful the channel, and that it posed a leak risk.

As for the alleged leaked information, Rockstar believes it to beryllium important and related to crippled features astir GTA 6. This includes circumstantial crippled features, comments connected the wide advancement of GTA 6 development, timelines to launch, and institution IT information protocols. Rockstar believes that if the comments successful question had leaked they would person been large gaming quality and mightiness adjacent person affected Take-Two’s stock price. When Rockstar officially announced that GTA 6 would beryllium delayed by six months to November 19, 2026, the marketplace worth of Take-Two plummeted $3.75 cardinal successful a azygous day.

And Rockstar has pointed to its well-established zero tolerance attack to leaks, highlighting that it dismissed a Rockstar worker successful Lincoln, UK successful April 2025, who it alleged disclosed confidential accusation astir GTA 6 to a 3rd enactment who published the accusation to societal media, and dismissed an worker successful the U.S. successful November 2023 and different successful India successful November 2025 for 2 abstracted acts of accusation leaking. Rockstar said that galore of the claimants accepted successful the Discord server that their comments mightiness not person aligned with Rockstar’s policies connected confidentiality and security, which it believes to beryllium a motion they were alert of the company’s zero-tolerance approach.

The IWGB told IGN past week that portion it was hopeful the justice would spot things its way, adjacent if interim alleviation were not to beryllium granted, that wouldn’t mean Rockstar would not beryllium recovered blameworthy of breaking the instrumentality if and erstwhile the lawsuit goes to trial.

“Whether oregon not interim alleviation is granted this week, we volition proceed warring successful the courts and connected the streets until we spot justice, for the fired Rockstar workers and for workers everyplace warring for a fairer future,” the IWGB said astatine the time. IGN has asked the IWGB for a caller connection successful effect to today’s ruling.

Union busting has consequences! UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the authorities volition look into @RockstarGames's dismissal of 31 national members. pic.twitter.com/4EEM9NvcR7

The ruling comes aft UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the lawsuit “deeply concerning," and pledged that ministers would investigate. The layoffs were raised by Rockstar North's section MP Chris Murray successful the UK's Parliament during a league of Prime Minister's Questions that took spot precocious past year.

"The video games institution Rockstar successful my constituency past period fired 31 employees without providing grounds oregon national representation," Murray told the Prime Minister. "The [Independent Workers Union of Great Britain] IWGB alleges national busting. Having met Rockstar they failed to reassure maine they are pursuing employment instrumentality and I stock concerns astir national busting.

"Given this authorities is liable for the biggest summation successful workers rights successful a generation," Murray continued, "does the Prime Minister hold each companies careless of nett size indispensable travel UK employment instrumentality and each workers person the close to articulation a union?"

"It's a profoundly concerning case," Starmer replied. "Every idiosyncratic has the close to articulation a commercialized national and we're determined to fortify workers rights and guarantee they don't look unfair consequences for being portion of a union. Our ministers volition look into the peculiar lawsuit that helium [Murray] raises and volition support him updated."

Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].