The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has shot back at Rockstar Games regarding the firing of 30+ staffers, saying that the company’s latest statement is “littered with falsehoods and disinformation.”
IWGB released a statement clarifying its take on Rockstar Games’ justification for terminating the 30+ UK and international employees in October 2025. Parent company Take-Two Interactive explained that the GTA developer fired those workers for “gross misconduct, and for no other reason.” More specifically, Rockstar Games told GameSpot that those developers were let go for discussing “specific game features from upcoming and unannounced titles” and other “confidential information” in a public forum. IWGB took issue with that, telling GameSpot that the characterization is inaccurate.
“Rockstar’s latest statement is littered with falsehoods and disinformation–they have given multiple, conflicting reasons to explain why the workers were fired, as if attempting to reverse engineer a rationale for the dismissals,” the union said in an emailed statement. “Once again, they have chosen to mischaracterise workers speaking about their working conditions in a private forum as ‘leaking information.’ It is hard to understand this statement as anything but a desperate attempt to deflect from the global scrutiny they have come under over the last month. From the UK Prime Minister in the House of Commons, to the game developers across the world erupting in protest–all eyes are on Rockstar and their lawless attack on the people who make them their billions.”
The situation has intensified since bursting in October 2025. Protests were formed outside Rockstar North’s office in Edinburgh. Over 200 Rockstar Games developers signed a letter demanding that those ousted workers be reinstated. Even the UK’s Prime Minister said they will keep pressure on Rockstar Games regarding the incident. All eyes are truly on this matter, as Rockstar Games and IWGB debate back and forth over how and why those developers were terminated and what sould be done about the situation.
In other union news, Doom developer id Software has formed a “wall-to-wall” union to protect its 165-person, Texas-based studio against AI while delivering better benefits. Microsoft has recognized that union.