Rockstar Games faces employment tribunal over union busting allegations

An employment tribunal has commenced in Glasgow involving 23 former employees of Rockstar Games, the developer of Grand Theft Auto. The claimants, represented by the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB), allege they were victims of “union busting” and unfair dismissal following attempts to organize.

The dispute centers on the dismissal of 34 employees in October 2025, primarily at the Edinburgh headquarters. Rockstar Games maintains the terminations were due to “gross misconduct” after staff allegedly shared confidential information regarding unannounced game features on a private Discord server. The company has compared the necessity of protecting such secrets to the proprietary measures taken by Apple and Coca-Cola.

Former employee Dayne Oram testified that a petition regarding remote working policies in early 2023 may have led to workers being placed on a “watch list.” While Rockstar representatives argued there was a significant time gap between the petition and the dismissals, claimants suggest the actions were connected to ongoing union organizing activities. The tribunal proceedings are expected to continue through October 16.