Rockstar workers in the UK will hold a union vote just as GTA 6 is released

As the release date for Grand Theft Auto 6 draws near on November 19, another layer of excitement and tension is building at the UK headquarters of game developer Rockstar Games. Employees at the studio are set to vote on recognizing their branch of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWUGB) between November 12 and November 26. If the vote is successful, the Rockstar Game Workers Union would become the largest recognized union in the UK's game industry.

Adding to the impending cultural and corporate excitement surrounding the GTA 6 launch, an employment tribunal between Rockstar and the IWUGB, originally set to conclude in October, has been extended. Closing arguments in the case are now expected to be delivered on November 17 or 18, just prior to the game's release.

The IWUGB initiated legal proceedings against Rockstar after the developer terminated over 30 employees in October 2025. Most of the dismissed workers were either union members or involved in organizing efforts. The company claimed the layoffs were due to misconduct related to sharing confidential information, but the union alleged the studio was engaging in union-busting. Despite this, Rockstar announced the Rockstar Game Workers Union in May 2026, representing employees across all of the company's UK offices.

In a recent feature article, journalist Jason Schreier got in touch with several Rockstar employees to report that discussions between unionizing workers and the company's management have been ongoing since the union's establishment. Rockstar's head of publishing, Jennifer Kolbe, told Schreier, "We go where the team goes. So if they want a union, they will have a union."