Rockstar Games claims false narratives have taken over the conversation around its recent layoffs, prompting the studio to respond publicly. After dismissing more than 30 employees, the developer insists the issue was the sharing of confidential project details on a public forum, not anti-union behavior.
Over the past few weeks, Rockstar Games has found itself at the center of an escalating controversy. Take-Two Interactive laid off more than thirty developers, citing serious misconduct. According to the company, the decision followed the public disclosure of confidential information, but the affected employees and the IWGB union argue that the real motivation was to block unionization efforts.
The accusations quickly spread beyond the studio. Politicians in the UK and Scotland have demanded transparency and even called for the reinstatement of the dismissed workers. Protests have taken place outside Rockstar and Take-Two offices in Edinburgh, New York, Paris, and London, while the IWGB has formally filed a lawsuit against the company.
The situation intensified further when more than 200 developers working on GTA 6 signed a collective letter supporting their laid-off colleagues. The mounting pressure led the UK Prime Minister to approve an investigation into Rockstar for alleged union suppression. In response, the studio issued an official statement to several outlets.
Rockstar’s Response to the Accusations
A Rockstar spokesperson told IGN: “Rockstar Games took action against a small group of individuals, both in the UK and internationally, who distributed and discussed confidential information, including specific features of upcoming and unannounced games, on a public forum, breaching company policy and their legal obligations. Claims that these terminations were linked to union membership or activities are completely false and misleading.”
The IWGB quickly rejected this explanation, calling the statement contradictory and misleading. The union argues that Rockstar has offered multiple justifications for the dismissals, suggesting an attempt to retroactively legitimize the decision. “Workers discussing their conditions in a private space are now being portrayed as leakers,” the union said.
Jake Thomas, communications officer for the IWGB, denied that journalists or external actors were present in the Discord channel cited by Rockstar. He also questioned the claim that information about unannounced games had been shared. “We are not sure what they mean by ‘features of upcoming games.’ Everything discussed was about employment conditions,” Thomas stated.
Rockstar responded by asserting that the union does not fully understand who had access to the channel and reiterated that developers who did not violate confidentiality rules were not dismissed. With the UK investigation still ongoing, more details are expected to emerge in the coming weeks regarding the true reasons behind the layoffs of 34 Rockstar developers.
Source: 3djuegos
