Rockstar Games Fires Employees for Leaking Confidential Information Amid Union Controversy

Rockstar Games, the developer behind the immensely popular Grand Theft Auto series, has always maintained strict security protocols to protect their intellectual property.

The company recently confirmed that dozens of employees terminated last week were dismissed for sharing confidential information, contradicting claims from labor organizations that the action was taken to disrupt unionization efforts.

According to a Rockstar spokesperson who provided a statement to Bloomberg on Wednesday, the affected employees had been discussing company secrets in a forum accessible to non-employees, which violated company policies.

"Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies," the spokesperson explained. "This was in no way related to people's right to join a union or engage in union activities."

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s subsidiary terminated between 30 and 40 staff members across offices in the United Kingdom and Canada, citing "gross misconduct." The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain, which pioneered organizing video game workers in the UK, informed Bloomberg that all terminated employees had been involved in union activities at Rockstar, describing the firings as "one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry."

The union maintained that all affected employees were participants in a private trade union chat group on Discord, with the only external participants being labor organizers.

Alex Marshall, president of the union, responded to Rockstar's allegations by stating the game developer was "afraid of hard-working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice. Management are showing they don't care about delays to GTA VI, and that they're prioritizing union-busting by targeting the very people who make the game."

Security has always been paramount at Rockstar Games, especially following a significant breach in 2022 that resulted in numerous videos of unfinished footage from Grand Theft Auto VI being leaked online. Earlier in 2024, Rockstar implemented a five-day in-office work requirement, partially citing security concerns. The union criticized this move as "reckless" at the time.

Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for release on May 26, 2026, and industry analysts anticipate it will be among the best-selling video games in history.