Six months before the highly anticipated release of GTA 6, Rockstar Games is going through a new crisis. The studio, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, fired between 30 and 40 employees last week, triggering a strong reaction from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which denounced “blatant union repression” and “ruthless”.
The case broke out after the distribution of confidential information related to the development of GTA 6 on a public forum. Rockstar accuses certain ex-employees of being behind this leak. The latter, all based in the United Kingdom or Canada, were part of a private union group on Discord, according to a Bloomberg report. The IWGB claims that these layoffs are actually intended to break any attempts at union organizing within the studio.
Take-Two denies any union motivation, and cites a “violation of the regulations”
The parent company, Take-Two, quickly reacted by press release. She maintains that the dismissals are linked to serious offenses, without any link to union activities. “Last week, we took disciplinary action against a small number of individuals who were disseminating and discussing confidential information in a public forum, in violation of our internal policies,” the statement said. “These measures have no connection with the right of everyone to join a union or participate in union activities.”
The IWGB disputes this version. The union maintains that the only people outside the Discord group were union organizers, and that the discussions were not public. This divergence fuels suspicions of a strategy aimed at muzzling any internal demands.
A tense context, between reinforced security and an imposed return to the office
This new episode comes in an already tense climate. Since the massive data leak in 2022, Rockstar has tightened its cybersecurity measures. Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, said at the time: “This leak is terribly regrettable… and we take these types of incidents very seriously.” He added: “There is no evidence that any physical data has been stolen, which is a good thing, and this leak will certainly have no impact on development, but it is extremely disappointing and prompts us to be extra vigilant when it comes to cybersecurity.”
With this in mind, Rockstar had imposed a return to the office five days a week in 2024, officially to “improve productivity and security”. A decision immediately contested by the IWGB, which criticized Rockstar for “failing in its commitments” by forcing this return without consultation, and for ignoring employees’ requests for dialogue.
Despite internal tensions, the release of GTA 6 is still scheduled for May 2026. The game has, for the moment, only been revealed with two trailers and a few screenshots, but analysts are already predicting a record launch.