- A judge has ruled against forcing Rockstar Games to pay interim relief to 34 employees fired after the IWGB accused the studio of union busting.
- The studio welcomes the decision and stands by its initial statement that the employees were fired for disclosing company secrets.
- IWGB President Alex Marshall said that despite the ruling, “Despite the denial of interim relief today, we emerged from last week’s hearing more confident than ever that a full and thorough tribunal will find that Rockstar’s calculated attempt to crush a union was not only unjust but illegal.”
Rockstar Games will not be obliged to pay interim compensation at age 34 Grand Theft Auto 6 developers who were fired in October, a judge ruled.
Following last year’s layoffs, which Rockstar said were due to employees disclosing company secrets, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) accused the studio of union busting. The company then took legal action against Rockstar and applied for emergency relief at the Glasgow employment tribunal earlier this month.
Now, as Kotaku reports, a British employment tribunal has decided not to force the RGT studio to pay interim measures, thus dealing the first blow in the ongoing dispute.
The ruling says the court “was unable to conclude that it appears likely that it will find that the primary reason for Plaintiffs’ dismissal was their membership in the IWGB,” and that the legal battle will continue.
In a statement to GamesRadar+, an IWGB spokesperson said the decision “is disappointing but in no way dampens our hopes of achieving justice when the full hearing takes place.”
“We emerge from this hearing having seen a glimpse of Rockstar’s fragile defenses, and feeling strengthened in our assertions that these dismissals were not only deeply unfair but also clearly illegal,” the spokesperson added. “The judge stated in her decision that: ‘There was no evidence that the respondent suffered any negative consequences as a result of these publications’.”
Employees involved in the dispute were involved in a Discord set up by the IWGB to help with union organizing; However, Rockstar claimed that the 31 UK developers fired were fired for disclosing confidential information on the channel.
IWGB later denied the allegations and accused Rockstar of union busting, which the studio denied, and has now accused it of “secretly surveilling” the network’s employees by “impersonating” a union staff member.
“Even though we were denied interim relief today, we emerged from last week’s hearing more confident than ever that a full and substantial tribunal will find Rockstar’s calculated attempt to crush a union not only unfair but illegal,” IWGB President Alex Marshall said in a statement to Kotaku.
“The fact that we were granted this hearing is a testament to the strength of our case and, over the course of two days of hearings, Rockstar never managed to substantiate the claims made in the press or refute that they had acted unfairly, maliciously and in violation of their own procedures.”
The initial ruling states that Discord included approximately 350 members, including former Rockstar employees, at least one of whom had previously posted online about the company.
A Rockstar spokesperson pointed out that Discord also included current employees who shared support for unionization and who had not been fired, reiterating its initial statement that the layoffs were due to the leak of company secrets.
Although it is unclear whether the situation is related, GTA6 was delayed shortly after the shots and is now scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026.
“The Glasgow Employment Tribunal has rejected the union’s application for interim relief. We welcome the decision, which is in line with Rockstar’s position as a whole,” a Rockstar spokesperson told Kotaku..
“We regret having been placed in a situation where layoffs were necessary, but we maintain our course of action, supported by the outcome of this hearing.”
In December, British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer also said that the British Parliament would investigate anti-union allegations against Rockstar, calling the matter “deeply concerning.”
The IWGB is currently representing the fired employees and the legal battle, which charges that Rockstar’s behavior “constitutes union victimization and blacklisting,” will continue.
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