Protesters Lay Siege On Take-Two Office In London After Rockstar Staff Got Axed For Trying To Unionize
- Protests over fired staffers likely to continue “until the workers get justice”
- Take-Two and Rockstar Games are yet to comment on today’s protest
- Rumors of leaked information about GTA VI turns into speculation
- What is commonly known about GTA VI so far
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Rockstar UK Fired 31 Staffers Believed To Have Worked On GTA VI
According to The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), about 60 people showed up outside Take-Two’s London office in the morning on Nov. 6 in solidarity with the 31 Rockstar UK employees who were unceremoniously fired on Oct. 30, following internal allegations of “gross misconduct” and for “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum.”
IWGB, who organized the protest, is accusing Rockstar UK of the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the gaming industry. Furthermore, IWGB intends to continue laying siege to Take-Two, Rockstars Games’ parent company, and Rockstar offices until the workers get justice.
“This morning’s protest saw so many people from across the games sector and beyond stand up in defiance against this disgusting attempt to crush worker unity. We want to assure Take Two and Rockstar that today’s action was only just the start,” IWGB President Alex Marshal told Eneba in an email.
“If they plan to dig their heels in on the most egregious union busting the sector’s ever seen, then they can get used to seeing us on their doorstep – we will not stop coming back until we get justice for these workers.”
Take-Two And Rockstar Have Gone Silent
According to IWGB, Rockstar has yet to respond to the protest this morning and IWGB will now be pursuing all legal avenues and protesting until all workers are reinstated.
“Rockstar continues to deflect from the real reason for these dismissals. They are afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice. Management are showing they don’t care about delays to GTA VI, and that they’re prioritizing union busting by targeting the very people who make the game,” Marshal said.
According to a previous statement from IWGB, everyone fired was a member of IWGB and were part of a private trade union channel on Discord where they presumably discussed poor working conditions.
“In recent years, Rockstar executives have benefited from £443 million ($580.5 million) in tax relief, while showing total disregard for the law or the livelihoods of their staff. At every turn, they’ve chosen profits over both workers and fans of their games. The only non Rockstar employees in the union Discord channel were union organisers,” Marshal said.
Eneba reached out to Take-Two and Rockstar Games for a comment, neither replied.
GTA VI Delayed Until 2026
Earlier this year Rockstar Games announced that GTA VI would be delayed until May 26, 2026. Since then the company has been sparse with information, releasing two trailers and some information about the characters in the game and where it takes place.
This has been the cause of countless threads on social media looking for clues and analyzing every last pixel related to the game. The online community has decided to interpret Take-Two’s initial response of “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum,” as leaking sensitive information about the game.
Still, there is nothing new being talked about regarding GTA VI anywhere at the moment. People are now speculating as to what information was possibly leaked. It is now rather clear that the confidential information discussed on Discord was about the working conditions, not the game.
It is not uncommon for developers to go into a period of crunch ahead of a game’s release, and this is possibly what is going on at Rockstar. Still, if this is the case, laying off people will only make working conditions worse for those still involved with getting the game ready for launch.
Commonly Known About GTA VI
GTA VI centers around Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos and is set in Vice City. Duval’s backstory sounds like he is a bit of an anti-hero looking for an easy life. After a stint in the army he finds himself in the Keys running drugs for a local dealer. Meeting Carmino was a turning point but he knows what he wants, but not how.
Carmino is a Latina who was taught to fight by her dad. Her troubled past landed her in the Leonida Penitentiary but through a stroke of luck she found herself on the outside. Her new life is based on making only smart decisions. While dreaming of the life her mother wanted while living in Liberty City, Carmino is ready to make it happen rather than waiting around.
Vice City is a mixed bag of glamor, hustle, and pure American greed. It is a place where pastel art deco hotels on the white sands of Ocean Beach meet the lively neighborhoods of Little Cuba and the busy Tisha-Wocka flea market. A quick glance over the VC Port will let players know that they are in the cruise ship capital of the world.
Leonida Keys is the place to be for those who enjoy a bit of fear and loathing in a tropical island paradise where the bars are always loaded, Grassrivers is a mangrove covered, wetland wilderness where the gators are not necessarily the most dangerous things lurking below the surface.
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