In light of the recent criticisms faced by Rockstar Games for its firing of over 30 employees, a new video interview has been published of some of these employees courtesy of People Make Games. The video features quite a few of the employees expressing disappointment at the company’s decision, as well its accusations of the “gross misconduct” by the workers, and a desire to return to the company to continue working on Grand Theft Auto 6.
“If I have gross misconduct on my CV, on my resume for the rest of my life, that is a huge detriment to any future career prospects,” said one employee in the video. “Something important to notice as well is you feel shame to be kicked out of work this way. Like, all of us still want to be here. We want our jobs, we want to finish what we were working on. And now the internal shame feel of having this gross misconduct with you forever, it’s hard to explain.”
An organiser from the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) spoke about the next steps for the union, which include efforts to reinstate all of the 31 UK-based employees that were fired, as well as 3 employees from Toronto. Along with this, the union is also fighting for full compensation for pay lost in the period during which the employees were fired.
“It’s clear accountability for the way these dismissals have been handled, these very clear, unfair dismissals without procedure, without evidence,” said the organiser. “So clear accountability from the company, and a commitment to following employment law in the UK in the future,” are the IWGB’s plans moving forward.
“What happens next is up to Rockstar,” continued the organiser. “We’ve just submitted our legal claim. The ball is in their court to respond. We hope they’ll resolve this with us amicably, right? This is, in the end, egregious, and to be honest, shocking. I have never seen a thing like this, not just in the game sector, but in UK trade union organising in the last 20 years. This is the moment where Rockstar can make that right.”
“These are workers who just want to go back to work, to work on a game that they love. If they don’t, they’ve seen what they have to contend with. The force of public feeling is against them on this, and we’ll continue to put pressure on them through legal, through demonstrations, speaking about what these workers have experienced.”
For its part, People Make Games has noted that it had been in contact with the employees and the IWGB about the formation of the union before the firings happened, and the union was slated to be officially announced shortly. The YouTube channel had planned to make a video about this union before Rockstar’s actions. Plans, since then, have changed, however.
An employee from Rockstar Games had also taken to the GTA Forums to post anonymously about the firings, calling the company out for its efforts at union busting as well as the spread of “a lot of disinformation and lies.”
Incidentally, Grand Theft Auto 6 has also been delayed since the firings happened from its original May 2026 release to November 19, 2026. One report indicates that the firings and the game’s delay have been completely separate, isolated incidents.
