'Deeply Concerning': GTA Dev's Alleged Union Busting Has Now Reached the UK Prime Minister 1

Rockstar Games has been in the news lately, not just because it's working on the biggest game on the horizon, GTA 6, but also because it abruptly fired tens of staff members.

It's a move that those affected are claiming is union busting, and it's led to protests and pleas in a bid to reinstate the fired workers back in the studio.

Rockstar put out a statement on the matter, saying the people affected were let go due to "distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum", and that it had nothing to do with any involvement with a union.

However, the situation has caused such a stir that it's reached UK government.

Chris Murray, MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, raised the topic during Prime Minister's Questions today.

"The video games company Rockstar in my constituency last month fired 31 employees without providing evidence or union representation," he said. "The [Independent Workers Union of Great Britain union] IWGB alleges union busting. Having met Rockstar they failed to reassure me they are following employment law and I share concerns about union busting."

After bringing this up, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer provided a response, calling it a "deeply concerning case" in his comments.

"Every worker has the right to join a trade union and we're determined to strengthen workers rights and ensure they don't face unfair consequences for being part of a union," he said. "Our ministers will look into the particular case that he [Murray] raises and will keep him updated."

In a statement provided to IGN, Murray gave more detail about his attempts to discuss the matter with Rockstar.

"The meeting began with us as MPs refused entry unless an NDA was signed, a request they eventually withdrew after it being made clear this would not be signed [...] The meeting only entrenched my concerns about the process Rockstar used to dismiss so many of their staff members. I was not assured their process paid robust attention to UK employment law, I was not convinced that this course of action was necessary, and alarmingly, I did not leave informed on exactly what these 31 people had done to warrant their immediate dismissal."

So, it seems Rockstar isn't out of the woods yet, as it now faces even higher levels of scrutiny.

GTA 6 is currently slated to release on 19th November, 2026, after a delay around the same time as the aforementioned firings.

[source ign.com]