As GTA 6 approaches its highly anticipated release, Rockstar Games have reportedly fired up to 40 developers. This act has caused a union to release a strongly word statement accusing Rockstar of a “most ruthless” act.
According to the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), around 40 people working at Rockstar across the UK and Canadian offices lost their jobs on Thursday. This was sent over to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier who first reported the news. The IWGB claim the developers that have been sacked were members of the union or were “attempting to organize at the company”.
The union’s game division took to Twitter to say “This is the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the UK games industry. Yesterday, @RockstarGames fired over 30 employees for union activity. We won’t back down, and we’re not scared – we will fight for every member to be reinstated.”
The IWGB’s main Twitter account said “Rockstar: not only making history in terms of profits, but in enacting the most brazen act of union busting the games industry has ever seen.”
The People In Charge Hit Back
Take-Two Interactive responded to the situation by providing a comment to Bloomberg. Alan Lewis told the outlet that the developers were fired over “gross misconduct, and for no other reason”. The continued “with we fully support Rockstar’s ambitions and approach.” Meanwhile the IWGB stated to Bloomberg this is a “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”.
Nothing New
This is not the first time Rockstar had angered developers and the union. The IWGB expressed concerns over Rockstar’s “reckless decision” to make working at the office mandatory in the final years of GTA 6’s development citing “ill-planning and serious impacts on wellbeing”.
At the time, around 200 Rockstar Games employees signed a petition opposing the newly enforced restrictions. With many developers not living close to an office, this was seen as a soft-layoff manoeuvre. Instead of announcing layoffs, employees would quit due to the long distance travel or increased pressure from working in the office.
In the GTA 6 development years, Rockstar has been praised for a change in culture for the better. Following the crunch conditions of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2, those working at Rockstar had claimed there was a sizeable shift for the better. However, some may argue old habits might be creeping back in as Rockstar approaches the finish line with GTA VI.
What do you think of the situation? Let us know down in the comments section below. In other GTA 6 news, gameplay of it could face restrictions on YouTube following an update to the platforms policy. Learn more here.
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