Fired GTA 6 devs speak out about working conditions at Rockstar at protests outside offices
DexertoFormer Rockstar Games developers spoke publicly in Edinburgh at a protest outside Rockstar North, accusing the company of unfair dismissals and harmful working conditions in the lead-up to Grand Theft Auto 6.
The protest started outside Rockstar North’s HQ before marching to the Scottish Parliament. Dexerto attended the demonstration and heard multiple workers speak for the first time since their dismissal.
More than 30 employees across Edinburgh, Dundee, Lincoln, and Toronto were fired at the end of October. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain has alleged that the move was an attempt to disrupt unionizing efforts.
Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have denied union-busting, stating that the dismissals were for gross misconduct, claiming the employees were leaking confidential information in a Discord chat.
At a second Edinburgh protest, former staff said the firings reflected deeper issues inside the studio as pressure around GTA 6 continued to rise. Protesters held up signs with “Grand Theft Wages” and “Unions ain’t busted” in GTA-style lettering.
Rockstar dev alleges “unreasonable working conditions”
One former developer told the crowd they wanted people to understand the human impact behind the company’s success.
They said Rockstar had become “a giant international corporation, a machine that creates billions in value for its overseas shareholders in an industry rife with work exploitation, unfair practice, and unreasonable working conditions.” They added that the company also benefited from “hundreds of millions in tax breaks designed to promote British values.”
“Grand Theft Auto 6 will make billions, that’s not in doubt. Shareholders will get rich, fortunes will be made. But I want people to think of the human cost. The people burnt out, the careers ended, the lives in disarray.”
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They added that the issues stretched beyond one company, calling it “an industry-wide problem” that requires stronger enforcement of worker protections.
Another former employee, identifying himself as Jack, said he worked in Rockstar’s QA department for almost four years before being dismissed. He described joining the union after years of feeling undervalued.
“I was scared at first, I was apprehensive to join. Like many of my colleagues in QA I always felt a bit more dispensable and a bit less skilled than workers in other departments,” he said. “I thought that by joining the union, I could be putting a target on my back. No one should ever feel this way when organizing in their workplace.”
Jack said the impact of the dismissals has been severe. “The 34 of us affected by this are no different. We had plans that hinged on our continual employment at Rockstar. We had plans that involved financial stability. My affected friends had plans to support their families and children. They had healthcare plans they relied on. They had plans that didn’t involve the potential to be deported from the country we call home.”
He also described one case involving a colleague who was fired while on paternity leave. “One of our friends in particular had plans that didn’t involve being unceremoniously fired while on paternity leave, just 9 days after the birth of her second child. This is the human cost of this decision, the human cost that wouldn’t have been considered when it was brazenly and recklessly made, because it wasn’t a quantifiable number on a spreadsheet.”
A member of the Scottish Parliament and a Scottish Government worker also spoke at the protest, backing the cause of the union and the fired workers.
The IWGB announced that over 200 Rockstar employees signed a letter sent to senior management demanding the reinstatement of the fired staff members.