Early Rockstar workers embroiled in a legal battle with the company have told fans they should not boycott GTA 6 to protest on their behalf. With GTA 6 due in November and the final hearing in the workers’ trial against Rockstar due to begin in Glasgow next month, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) asked its sponsors to buy t-shirts to help fund the legal battle. Rockstar has insisted that employees it fired late last year were fired because they leaked information. game features for upcoming and unannounced titles on Discord, not because they were trying to unionize. 34 Rockstar staff were sacked (31 in the UK and three in Canada), prompting protests outside GTA 6 developer Rockstar North’s office in Edinburgh, Scotland, and outside parent company Take-Two’s office in London. Protest photos at the Rockstar North and Take-Two office, November 2025. Rockstar believes the alleged leaked information is significant and related to game features surrounding GTA 6. This includes specific game features and commentary on GTA 6’s overall development progress, release schedules, and the company’s IT security protocols. Rockstar believes that if the comments in question had been leaked, they would have been big news about the game and could have even affected Take-Two’s share price. When Rockstar officially announced that GTA 6 would be delayed by six months to November 19, 2026, Take-Two’s market value plummeted $3.75 billion in a single day. Rockstar also noted its well-established zero-tolerance approach to leaks, noting that it fired a Rockstar employee in Lincoln, United Kingdom, in April 2025, who allegedly revealed confidential information about GTA 6 to a third party who posted the information on social media, and fired a Jack Hoxby, a member of the IWGB Game Workers Branch fired by Rockstar last year, saying: “We dedicated years of our lives to helping build this game. We don’t want you to. boycotts. We want you to help us fight for justice. “Since Rockstar suddenly fired us last year, we have seen an incredible outpouring of support from players and workers around the world. “Some people have asked if they should boycott GTA 6 to protest on our behalf, but there is a better way to support us and hold Rockstar accountable. “Buy one of our t-shirts. You will help get justice for us and defend the right of workers around the world to unite and unionize. “That way, when GTA 6 comes out in November, you can enjoy it knowing that you had the support of the people who created it.” Laid-off Rockstar workers would rather their fans buy a t-shirt than boycott GTA 6. While this apparent boycott was never going to put a dent in GTA 6’s sales success (Take-Two’s boss has already praised GTA 6 as “unprecedented”), the IWGB aims to maintain a presence in the public eye as the crucial final hearing begins in September. In June, Rockstar developers applied for voluntary recognition from the IWGB Game Workers Union in a bid to make the celebrated developer the second UK games studio with a recognized union. IWGB said in a statement. Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM is currently the only UK studio with formal union recognition. The IWGB claims to represent a “significant portion” of Rockstar’s workforce across its offices in Edinburgh, Dundee, Lincoln, Leeds and London, and that its existence has contributed to “unprecedented” average pay rises and financial incentives for the first time in history. A Rockstar Games spokesperson issued IGN the following statement at the time: “We strive to make the best games possible by providing our talented teams, world-class work environments, and ongoing career opportunities. We have fostered a culture that focuses on teamwork, excellence, and kindness, and where we support and reward the team at all levels of the business through competitive compensation and benefits policies. We are proud that, as a result, our employee retention is well above the industry standard.” “We have received a request from a union seeking to discuss voluntary recognition. We value an open and constructive dialogue with all interested parties and will arrange a meeting.” Rockstar can refuse to recognize the union, which would then open the door for the IWGB to submit its application for legal recognition to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) of the Department of Business and Commerce. But could its members go on strike? The IWGB told IGN that “members will decide the organizing strategy they will use to secure” recognition. Wesley is Director of News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100 You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
