Rockstar says employees were fired for leaking secrets, not for trying to unionize

[midian182]

A hot potato: Rockstar Games has responded to claims that the reason it fired dozens of employees last week was because they were trying to unionize. The Grand Theft Auto developer says that the firings were solely over alleged leaking of company secrets.

Reports emerged last week that Rockstar Games had fired between 30 and 40 staff across its UK and Canada offices on October 30.

All of the fired workers were part of a private trade union chat group on Discord. The Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union called the move "the most brazen act of union busting the games industry has ever seen." The IWGB told Bloomberg that some of the fired employees were members of the union, while others were trying to organize.

Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, said at the time that the employees were fired for gross misconduct, and for no other reason.

In one of the most shameless instances of union-busting Rockstar Games fired 30+ IWGB union members for NO OTHER REASON than to terrorize & silence them. Join the IWGB protest! Demand reinstatement! Thursday, 6 November 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Take-Two House, 30 Cleveland Street, London, W1T 4JD

[image or embed]

– IWGB (@iwgbunion.bsky.social) Nov 5, 2025 at 14:39

Now, a new Bloomberg report has expanded on Take-Two's claims. The company says that it took action against staff who had been distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, violating company policies.

"This was in no way related to people's right to join a union or engage in union activities," Take-Two said.

The IWGB disputes the company's explanation, noting that the only non-Rockstar personnel the employees were speaking to were labor organizers. In a new statement, the union said that Rockstar is "afraid of hard-working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice."

While this incident doesn't appear related to Grand Theft Auto VI, Take-Two has been extremely cautious when it comes to leaks involving next year's release.

Back in September 2022, one of the biggest leaks of all time took place when over 90 videos and screenshots from early GTA VI development were posted online. Rockstar said the hack cost it $5 million and thousands of hours of employee time.

It was later revealed that a UK teenager was behind the hack and leak. He was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment inside a secure hospital due to his desire to return to cybercrime as soon as possible.

In 2024, Rockstar became the latest company to drag its workers back into the office for five days per week. Rather than being for "productivity" reasons, the move was designed to minimize the risk of further leaks.

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Rockstar says employees were fired for leaking secrets, not for trying to unionize

 

[Kirby1]

The fact that Bloomberg stepped in to try to defend Rockstar makes then seem 10 times more guilty.

I have no doubt that the same company that got hyper focused on milking people with micro-transactions for over a decade in a single game would fire employees for trying to unionize.

 

[VitalyT]

a UK teenager was behind the hack and leak. He was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment inside a secure hospital due to his desire to return to cybercrime as soon as possible

This made my day.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I can't wait for all the people who immediately believed the claims of the Union without evidence to immediately refute this without evidence. Speaking of:

The fact that Bloomberg stepped in to try to defend Rockstar makes then seem 10 times more guilty.

I have no doubt that the same company that got hyper focused on milking people with micro-transactions for over a decade in a single game would fire employees for trying to unionize.

Or maybe...the employees leaked information and got fired.

 

[Kirby1]

I can't wait for all the people who immediately believed the claims of the Union without evidence to immediately refute this without evidence. Speaking of:

Or maybe...the employees leaked information and got fired.

Are you into me or something? Do you follow my post so you can quote them all? Day has just started and 3 times you have quoted me with completely useless comments.

 

[Kirby1]

This made my day.

The kid is some kind of autistic sevant or something. He didn't understand the consequences of his actions.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Are you into me or something? Do you follow my post so you can quote them all? Day has just started and 3 times you have quoted me with completely useless comments.

Oh sweety, dont humor yourself, you're not my type. This website is public and anyone can comment, and anyone can reply to those comments.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Maybe… if you think someone’s trolling you, DON’T engage?!?

Instead, you’ve filled up this forum with nonsense…

Anyways, if the employees were actually fired for leaking secrets - what secrets were they?

Has Rockstar provided any evidence for this?

 

[passwordistaco]

Maybe… if you think someone’s trolling you, DON’T engage?!?

Instead, you’ve filled up this forum with nonsense…

Anyways, if the employees were actually fired for leaking secrets - what secrets were they?

Has Rockstar provided any evidence for this?

They can't tell you that. It's secret.

 

[Billybobjoey]

They're really expecting us to believe all 30 were leaking things? If that were the case, I'd imagine there would have been leaks all over the place, instead of, oh I dunno, the two instances there were that were 2 and 3 years ago? Oh and it just so happens that these employees that were all supposedly leaking information were all the same people talking to Unions? Come on, if they're gonna make up a reason at least make it believable.

 

[captaincranky]

It's so refreshing to see different members hating on each other instead of just hating on me Carry on, kidz.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Maybe… if you think someone’s trolling you, DON’T engage?!?

Instead, you’ve filled up this forum with nonsense…

Anyways, if the employees were actually fired for leaking secrets - what secrets were they?

Has Rockstar provided any evidence for this?

I imagine that Rockstar isnt going to publicly display the information these employees were leaking, or attempting to leak, because then they themselves would leak their own data.

Now if a court case come of this, I'd bet we'd get to see it all on display.

They're really expecting us to believe all 30 were leaking things? If that were the case, I'd imagine there would have been leaks all over the place, instead of, oh I dunno, the two instances there were that were 2 and 3 years ago? Oh and it just so happens that these employees that were all supposedly leaking information were all the same people talking to Unions? Come on, if they're gonna make up a reason at least make it believable.

Is that really any less believable than Rockstar, a UK company, which is well versed in UK law with a legal department larger than most companies, would fire 30 union employees just for being in a union or joining a union, opening themselves up to a lawsuit? Then they would double down on that, making provably false claims as to why the employees were fired?

Rockstar employs thousands of people, why would they go through that risk for a tiny number of people in two offices?

 

[pnntmp]

There is no evidence in support of either claim.
Leaking secrets is usually done by individuals, not by dozens of employees.
On the other hand, an international plot to unionize is also unlikely.

Probably Rockstar Games wanted to fire them for some other reason, and the employees decided to frame it as a retaliation against an attempt to unionize. Then the company made the mistake to claim all were fired for leaking secrets, instead of revealing the actual reason.
Anyway, it's all pure speculation.

 

[Billybobjoey]

Is that really any less believable than Rockstar, a UK company, which is well versed in UK law with a legal department larger than most companies, would fire 30 union employees just for being in a union or joining a union, opening themselves up to a lawsuit? Then they would double down on that, making provably false claims as to why the employees were fired?

Rockstar employs thousands of people, why would they go through that risk for a tiny number of people in two offices?

Unions are pesky to the higher ups. If unions get their way, employees cost a lot more (healthcare, time off, etc.), eating into yearly bonuses, plus the headache of now having to go through Union reps. It always starts small, but tends to spread quickly. So yeah, I'd believe that they'd risk 30 people not having the money to go to court over it to try and stamp it out. Legal fees for the company may be expensive, but when you're bringing in billions each year, that's peanuts.

We'll never know unless it actually goes to court anyways, which unless the union bankrolls it, I doubt will happen. Sure, it's possible it's entirely unrelated, but I really don't buy the leaking excuse.

 

[scoffer]

This made my day.

Yeah. Had his crime been rape and murder, he would have got a 30-day suspended sentence -it being modern-day UK.

 

[captaincranky]

Yeah. Had his crime been rape and murder, he would have got a 30-day suspended sentence -it being modern-day UK.

That's nothing. Here in the US you can get two people killed in a fake assassination attempt, owe 500 billion to NYC for financial crimes, commit sexual assault with impunity, steal and sell classified documents, and still be elected POTUS.

 

[toooooot]

I am cynical enough to allow that each side could be in the wrong.
Like, my main reason for questioning employees behavior is all those
stories about people doing crazy sh*t because they were upset with their job
or the boss.

Then, because those stories happen, employers come up with dozens of controlling
techniques, guidelines and limits that are sad in many ways.

Any one of them could be lying.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Unions are pesky to the higher ups. If unions get their way, employees cost a lot more (healthcare, time off, etc.), eating into yearly bonuses, plus the headache of now having to go through Union reps. It always starts small, but tends to spread quickly. So yeah, I'd believe that they'd risk 30 people not having the money to go to court over it to try and stamp it out. Legal fees for the company may be expensive, but when you're bringing in billions each year, that's peanuts.

We'll never know unless it actually goes to court anyways, which unless the union bankrolls it, I doubt will happen. Sure, it's possible it's entirely unrelated, but I really don't buy the leaking excuse.

I have a feeling this was written from an American perspective on unions.

In the UK and canada time off are mandated by law, and healthcare is free provided by the state. If they did fire without good cause, they will lose the inevitable lawsuit, have to hire the people back, pay backpay, pay significant legal fines, AND now give the union massive ammunition to expand their coverage in the offices affected.

There's no real benefit here for Rockstar to lie. I agree we'll have to wait for the court case, which if the union is telling the truth, should happen posthaste, as this would be open and shut.

 

[Hexic]

The kid is some kind of autistic sevant or something. He didn't understand the consequences of his actions.

>NSA Talent team has entered the chat.

 

[Hexic]

It's so refreshing to see different members hating on each other instead of just hating on me Carry on, kidz.

And here I thought you left.

The hate has been as potent as ever, just depends who’s throwing it these days.

 

[lonetac]

I am cynical enough to allow that each side could be in the wrong.
Like, my main reason for questioning employees behavior is all those
stories about people doing crazy sh*t because they were upset with their job
or the boss.

Then, because those stories happen, employers come up with dozens of controlling
techniques, guidelines and limits that are sad in many ways.

Any one of them could be lying.

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

The truth is out there.
-- X-Files

 

[captaincranky]

And here I thought you left.

The hate has been as potent as ever, just depends who’s throwing it these days.

No, I took a "sabbatical". Sadly, my character is so lacking, that I think that looking at "erotic art", is much preferable to reading never ending charts and graphs of VGA and CPU performance, in an seemingly endless variety of games. This because I don't game, but do still..(on never mind) once in a while, in spite of my advancing years..

Realizing that, "rebuttal", is a skill, and skills are something like any other; sic, "if you don't use them, you lose them", I returned. Besides, my 20 years "enlistment", passed this past October. Since my post and like count aren't sufficient to live on in retirement, I decided to stay.

I think I'm misunderstood, since, (as evidenced by this post), I do tend to run on a bit, while forgetting at times to "zip up my misanthropy".