Rockstar Games has been ordered by the UK government to refund employees after appearing on a list of companies who failed to pay the National Minimum Wage.
While the anticipation for GTA 6 soaks up nearly all the conversation around Rockstar Games, the developer has been the focus of several controversies over the past year.
In December, Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to investigate allegations of union busting, after the studio fired over 30 employees who were said to be either in a union or planning to organise one. Rockstar Games claimed they were fired for ‘gross misconduct, and for no other reason’.
The studio has now found itself targeted by the UK government once again, but this time for not paying several employees minimum wage.
On Thursday (March 19), HMRC posted a list of 389 employers in the UK which have failed to pay workers minimum wage, as part of a government crackdown. According to the list, around 60,000 workers have been underpaid and denied over £7.3 million in wages.
Rockstar Games UK Limited, based in Edinburgh, is listed as having failed to pay a total of £1,396.73 to five employees. Along with being ordered to repay the wages, the government has fined the studio for the offence.
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While it’s unclear how much Rockstar has been fined, a total of around £12.6 million in penalties has been issued for 389 employees at various companies.
Speaking about the crackdown, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: ‘The vast majority of businesses in this country do the right thing by paying their staff properly and playing by the rules. It’s not fair on them when others are able to get ahead by not paying wages their workers are owed.
‘A good employer doesn’t build their business on the back of unpaid wages, and I look forward to working with the new Fair Work Agency to ensure its powers are used to crack down on those who think the rules don’t apply to them.’
This comes ahead of a minimum wage increase next month. From April 2026, the hourly rate for those aged 21 and above is going up by 50p to £12.71, workers aged 18-20 will receive a 85p rise to £10.85, while those under 18 will get a 45p boost to £8 an hour.
While Rockstar Games is a surprising inclusion, considering the success of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, it isn’t the only high profile company which failed to pay its workers properly, with the likes of Harvey Nichols and Costa also on the list.
Rockstar’s next game, GTA 6, is set to launch across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, 2026.
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