Employment Tribunal Denies Fired Employees’ Request for Interim Pay From Rockstar Games

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The 31 former Rockstar Games employees in the UK who were laid off last November have started a legal case, but a UK employment tribunal has refused their request for immediate financial support. These employees, who are working with the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), claim they were fired for trying to form a union, as reported by Jason Schreier of Bloomberg.

Okay, so I just heard back about the legal request, and unfortunately, Judge Eccles denied it. Basically, the judge didn’t think they showed enough evidence to prove Rockstar was trying to stop people from unionizing – they needed to prove a strong likelihood of winning the case. What’s also frustrating is the judge said it’s harder to get a temporary ruling like this than it would be at a full trial, so the standards are even higher. It’s a tough break, honestly.

A Rockstar Games representative confirmed the company still supports its decision to let those employees go. They stated that while they’re sorry it came to that, they believe the recent hearing validated their actions.

So, the judge, Judge Eccles, was looking at the Discord server where employees were talking about potentially unionizing. He actually admitted that some of the people who got fired hadn’t posted much on it at all! He also pointed out the server had a lot of people – 350, actually – and not everyone still worked at the studio. Basically, the judge decided there wasn’t enough proof to say the main reason these employees were fired was because they were trying to join the IWGB. It’s a bit disappointing, but that’s where things stand right now.

IWGB president Alex Marshall remains hopeful about the upcoming full tribunal hearing. Although the initial ruling didn’t favor the employees, he stated that last week’s proceedings actually strengthened their belief that a complete review will prove Rockstar’s efforts to suppress a union were both unfair and illegal.

The ruling follows a recent announcement by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that Rockstar Games would be investigated for potentially discouraging its employees from forming a union.

Keir Starmer called the situation ‘deeply concerning’ after MP Chris Murray asked about the recent firings. Starmer emphasized that all workers have the right to join a union and that his party is committed to protecting their rights, ensuring they aren’t punished for union membership. He stated that his team would investigate this specific case and provide Murray with an update.

The studio quickly responded with a statement strongly denying accusations of trying to prevent unionization. They explained that the employees were fired because they shared and talked about private company information publicly, which violated their policies.

Rockstar Games recently addressed a leak of confidential information – including details about unreleased games – that was shared publicly by a small number of people both in the UK and abroad. A spokesperson for the studio stated that these individuals violated company policy and legal agreements. The studio also firmly denied claims that these dismissals had anything to do with union involvement.

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2026-01-13 15:14