GTA 6 controversy deepens as fired developers accuse Rockstar of union-busting

Reports claim Rockstar Games fired dozens of employees for leaking information about Grand Theft Auto VI, but labor organizers say there’s more to the story.

The gaming giant confirmed that 30 to 40 workers in the U.K. and Canada were terminated for “gross misconduct,” alleging they shared confidential material in public forums.

However, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain says the layoffs were actually retaliation against employees trying to unionize, calling it “one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting” in gaming history.

What's going on with GTA 6?

“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,” a Rockstar Games spokesperson told Bloomberg.

“This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”

Alex Marshall, president of The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, meanwhile, told Bloomberg that Rockstar is “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,” he added.

It seems that much of this recent Rockstar Games drama is centered around the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI. The game has had significant delays, much to the dismay of fans. Currently, the game is scheduled to be released on Nov. 19, 2026.

Earlier this month, Rockstar Games announced the new release date on the company's website and apologized to fans.

"We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve," the site reads.

"We want to thank you again for your patience and support. While the wait is a little longer, we are incredibly excited for players to experience the sprawling state of Leonida and a return to modern-day Vice City."

They also posted the announcement on Twitter:

What are people saying about Rockstar Games' recent firings?

There's been a lot of chatter online about Rockstar Games' recent claim that they fired employees over leaks. One anonymous worker took to the GTAForums to share their side of the story. You can check out a screenshot of their post in the tweet below:

"GTA, the most successful gaming franchise of all time, but they can't make sure their employees feel taken care of while they create what will be the biggest game of all time?" one person replied.

"While I believe do believe that them being unionized was a big factor here…..let's not pretend like R* hasn't been suffering from major leaks over the past few years. GTA 6's plot got leaked before the early beta footage got leaked. And more had leaked after that. There definitely are people there guilty of leaking stuff," another person added.

Some folks can't help but make jokes about the situation.

There's some major concern about "union busting" online.

Meanwhile, some are just bummed about the game's delay.

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