The company insists that the reason was the leakage of confidential information.
Rockstar Games has once again commented on the mass layoffs of developers working on Grand Theft Auto 6, stating that they are not related to attempts to create a union. According to the company, the reason was the leakage of confidential information on Discord.
This refers to the events of late October 2025, when Rockstar fired 34 employees: 31 in the UK and three at the studio in Toronto. Initially, the publisher stated that the developers were distributing confidential information through a Discord server associated with the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain. The union called this explanation far-fetched and accused the company of trying to suppress the collective organization of workers.
In a new statement to IGN, a Rockstar representative clarified that the dismissed employees discussed and distributed confidential data, including features of future and unannounced games, violating corporate rules and legal obligations. The company emphasizes that union membership was not the reason for the dismissals.
Rockstar also claims that the server cannot be considered closed: among its members were allegedly a game journalist and an employee of another studio. At the same time, according to the company, some developers who supported the union continue to work at Rockstar, as they did not violate the confidentiality policy.
IWGB rejected the new accusations. Union representative Jake Thomas stated that the organization does not understand what "leaks of game features" Rockstar is referring to, and the "journalist" indicated by the company only "wrote a couple of articles for a newspaper" and is a "union representative and game industry worker who participated in the server's work in that capacity" (original wording), and not an outside participant. The IWGB called Rockstar's position contradictory and accused the company of trying to retroactively justify the dismissals.
Rockstar responded by saying that the IWGB's comment confirms its position: "As we assumed, and as the response to our statement confirms, they do not know who was in this Discord channel."
The situation has taken on a political dimension. The issue of dismissals was brought to the attention of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called the situation a cause for serious concern and did not rule out a state investigation. In November 2025, the IWGB filed a lawsuit demanding the reinstatement of the dismissed employees and seeking recognition of the dismissals as unfair.
The situation has already gone beyond a corporate conflict. The issue of dismissals was brought to the attention of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called it a cause for serious concern and suggested the possibility of a state investigation.
