Rockstar Makes More Detailed Allegations About GTA 6 Developer Firings

Rockstar Games has taken up the latest wave of Grand Theft Auto 6 developer layoffs, beefing up its official explanation for why the staff were fired with more detailed allegations — all of which the union involved in the case denies. The central issue in the ongoing dispute is whether GTA 6 developers were fired for trying to unionize or for leaking company secrets.

The purge at the end of October 2025 resulted in 34 redundancies, with 31 employees based in the UK and the remaining three at the game maker's studio in Toronto. At the time, Rockstar said that GTA 6 developer was fired for leaking company secrets via a private Discord server run by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB). The IWGB rejected that claim as baseless, responding that the firings were a clear case of union-busting. A subsequent report by People Make Games who interviewed an IWGB representative revealed select messages that may have received some GTA 6 developers fired, including an example of a staff member who posted an automatically generated transcript of an email on Slack policy changes in possible violations of company policies.

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GTA 6 developers allegedly fired for leaking 'gameplay features from upcoming and unannounced titles'

Rockstar has now suggested that the shootings had nothing to do with it GTA 6 developers discuss its recent partial ban on Slack emoji use, while rejecting accusations of anti-union activities. “Rockstar Games took action against a small group of individuals, across the UK and internationally, who distributed and discussed confidential information (including specific game features from upcoming and unannounced titles) in a public forum, in breach of company policy and their legal obligations,” a company representative told IGN. “Claims that these layoffs were linked to union membership or activities are completely false and misleading.”

Rockstar says the Union Discord Server had a journalist and rival developer as members

Rockstar also claims that the IWGB Discord server included a gaming journalist and an employee from another developer among its members. The company claims that only staff found to have discussed confidential information were fired, noting that there are others who spoke positively about union membership on the server but are still employed, as they were not found to have violated company policy. Rockstar also confirmed earlier reports that the situation was brought to the attention of other employees who were members of the Discord server but were concerned about their colleagues' actions after seeing the alleged leaks. The case was recently highlighted by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who described it as “deeply worrying” and suggested the UK government will investigate GTA 6 developer fires.

Rockstar Games took action against a small group of individuals, across the UK and internationally, who distributed and discussed confidential information (including specific game features from upcoming and unannounced titles) in a public forum.

The IWGB Union rejects Rockstar's latest allegations

IWGB communications officer Jake Thomas denied Rockstar's latest allegations. Addressing the claim that game features were leaked on the Discord server, he said the union is not even aware of what it could be referring to. Regarding the mention of a gaming journalist being involved, Thomas clarified that the person in question previously “wrote a couple of articles for a magazine”, but is a union representative and gaming worker who participated in the server in that capacity. He added that the same was true for any member of the server's Rockstar employee channel — where potential union members could learn about union membership — who was not a Rockstar employee. In a separate statement, the IWGB said that “Rockstar's latest statement is filled with falsehoods and misinformation,” accusing the company of trying to “reverse-engineer” a justification for the shooting GTA 6 developer by citing “multiple, conflicting reasons” for the October 2025 layoffs.

Rockstar responds to the IWGB's response, claiming it proves its point

Rockstar has since issued a response to the IWGB's counter-allegations. “As we suspected and as evidenced by the response to our statement, they have no idea who was on this Discord,” a company representative told IGN, albeit without elaborating on that line of thought. The IWGB began legal proceedings against Rockstar in November 2025, demanding the reinstatement of the dismissed employees. The union has declared it will pursue unfair dismissal claims if its demands are not upheld and is currently fundraising through the Action Network to support its legal challenge.