Diego Argüello, Contributing Editor, News, GameDeveloper.com

December 10, 2025

4 Min Read

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called out the alleged union-busting of Rockstar Games employees as a "deeply concerning case," adding that ministers will "look into" the dismissals.

The discussion took place in parliament earlier today, which started when Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Member of Parliament Chris Murray brought up the dismissal of 31 employees and union members of the Rockstar UK team last month.

Murray mentioned the allegations of union busting from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB). He added that "having met Rockstar, they failed to reassure me they are following employment law and I share concerns about union-busting."

Then, in a question for the UK Prime Minister, Murray asked if he agrees that all companies, regardless of profit size, must follow "UK employment law and all workers have the right to join a union."

Starmer proceeded to respond by calling it a "deeply concerning" case, and that every worker has the right to join a trade union.

"We’re determined to strengthen workers’ rights and ensure they don’t face unfair consequences for being part of a union," Starmer said. "Our ministers will look into the particular case that he raises and keep him updated."

In an statement given to IWGB, Murray added that his meeting with Rockstar "only entrenched" his concerns about the process the company used to "dismiss so many of their staff members." Moreover, he wasn’t "assured their process paid robust attention to UK employment law," nor convinced him that "this course of action was necessary."

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"Alarmingly, I did not leave informed on exactly what these 31 people had done to warrant their immediate dismissal," Murray said.

Over 200 Rockstar staffers asked for the employees to be reinstated

The IWGB has referred to the dismissal of the employees as a "calculated attack on workers," accusing Rockstar of illegally firing members of its UK team for engaging in trade union activity. The impacted were fired on November 2, 2025. All were part of a private trade union Discord server and members of the IWGB.

"Rockstar has just carried out the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry. This flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions is an insult to their fans and the global industry," said IWGB president, Alex Marshall, in a statement at the time.

In a statement issued to Bloomberg, a Rockstar spokesperson said the company "took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies." Moreover, the statement emphasized that the firing was "in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities."

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IWGB said that Rockstar is attempting to "deflect" from the truth and remains afraid of "hard working staff privately discussing and exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice."

Then, on November 12, IWGB issued formal legal claims against Rockstar for its actions, bringing the dispute before the British courts. The union stated that it repeatedly sought meetings with the company to resolve the conflict through negotiation, only to be stonewalled by the studio.

"Our members allege that Rockstar’s conduct constitutes trade union victimization and blacklisting," said the IWGB legal team at the time. The filing came days after Rockstar announced Grand Theft Auto VI will be delayed until November 2026.

Since then, current workers at the studio have been mobilizing outside multiple Rockstar branch studios. 220 letters signed by Rockstar staff were delivered to management, demanding for the 31 employees fired to be reinstated.

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“It’s heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account—during a period where Rockstar want us to feel scared, my brave former colleagues are marching straight up to our boss’ door and demanding our voices are heard and not backing down," said an anonymous worker quoted in IWGB’s release.

"It’s clear to everyone close to this situation that this is a blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting. Rockstar employs so many talented game developers, all of whom are crucial to making the games we put out."

About the Author

Contributing Editor, News, GameDeveloper.com

Diego Nicolás Argüello is a freelance journalist and critic from Argentina. Video games helped him to learn English, so now he covers them for places like The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, and more. He also runs Into the Spine, a site dedicated to fostering and supporting new writers, and co-hosted Turnabout Breakdown, a podcast about the Ace Attorney series. He’s most likely playing a rhythm game as you read this.