Rockstar Games Employee Calls Out Studio For Spreading “Disinformation and Lies”, Union Busting

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Following recent criticism of Rockstar Games for laying off over 30 employees, someone from the studio has spoken out on the GTA Forums. The employee, who asked to remain anonymous but was verified by a forum administrator, criticized the Grand Theft Auto developers, accusing the company of actively working against unionization efforts.

Organize has detailed the circumstances surrounding the layoff of over 34 employees, claiming the company’s explanations contain significant inaccuracies and falsehoods. According to Organize, HR initially contacted the affected employees with requests for brief, casual meetings. However, during these meetings, employees were unexpectedly presented with termination letters citing “gross misconduct.” The union was also reportedly denied the opportunity to represent the employees during these meetings.

Rockstar stated the employees were fired for sharing and talking about secret company information publicly. However, Organize, representing the workers, said this wasn’t true. He explained the employees were actually discussing unionization with representatives from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) in a private Discord chat, accessible only to the employees and union officials.

Just to be clear, I didn’t see any conversations or leaks about Rockstar’s projects on the Union Discord server,” stated Organize. “We only discussed union organizing and working conditions at Rockstar Games. This was a private Discord group limited to Rockstar employees and representatives from the IWGB Union.

This was clearly an attempt to dismantle the union. All of those who were let go were union members, and most of them were actively involved in organizing the union across different studios in the UK.

Organize also expressed concern that these layoffs might be an attempt by Rockstar Games to discourage unionization, pointing out that over 250 people were involved in the Discord group discussing it. He believes that if the company isn’t held accountable, they will continue to fire employees who are actively working to form a union.

Organize reported that those still employed are working in fear. They’re afraid of losing their jobs and hesitant to speak openly with each other, even during breaks. They avoid interacting with protesting colleagues outside the studio, worried about facing consequences. Morale is extremely low, and excitement for future projects has been replaced by discouragement and a complete loss of trust.

Shortly after the layoffs, the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union protested outside Take-Two Interactive’s London office, accusing the company of deliberately trying to suppress union activity.

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2025-11-07 15:41