Rockstar employees have formed the Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU), which operates as a subsidiary of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB).
In a press release sent to GamesIndustry.biz, the RGWU stated it was initially prepared to launch publicly after surpassing the 10% union membership threshold last year.
However, after this threshold was reached Rockstar dismissed over 30 employees in the UK and Canada for “distributing confidential information in a public forum,” later identified as a Discord server managed by the IWGB.
“These dismissals, which we believe to be the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting the UK games sector has ever seen, sparked protests across the globe, drew international media attention, and initiated a high profile legal battle which will see its final hearing later this year,” it said.
“These mass firings did not crush our union. In fact, we are larger and stronger than we have ever been. We passed the 10% membership threshold again shortly after the dismissals, and since then have continued to see more and more workers join us from every site around the UK.”
GamesIndustry.biz contacted Take-Two Interactive regarding the union’s formation and declined to comment.
Rockstar previously responded to union busting allegations, stating that the dismissals were due to staff allegedly leaking “confidential information.”
“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 developer said in a statement.
“This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”
Earlier this year, the IWGB filed formal legal claims on behalf of the affected employees.
Both parties attended a preliminary UK employment tribunal hearing in January 2026, where a judge denied a request for interim relief for the dismissed Rockstar staff.
