Do Not Boycott GTA 6, Fired Rockstar Workers Tell Fans: 'There’s a Better Way to Support Us and Hold Rockstar to Account'

The archetypal Rockstar workers who are embroiled successful a ineligible conflict with the institution person told fans they shouldn’t boycott GTA 6 to protestation connected their behalf.

With GTA 6 owed retired successful November, and the last proceeding of the workers’ proceedings against Rockstar acceptable to statesman successful Glasgow adjacent month, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) asked backers to bargain T-shirts to assistance money the ineligible conflict instead.

Rockstar has insisted the employees it fired precocious past twelvemonth were dismissed due to the fact that they leaked crippled features for upcoming and unannounced titles successful Discord, not due to the fact that they were trying to unionize. 34 members of unit astatine Rockstar were dismissed — 31 successful the UK and 3 successful Canada — sparking protests extracurricular the bureau of GTA 6 developer Rockstar North successful Edinburgh, Scotland, and extracurricular genitor institution Take-Two’s bureau successful London.

Rockstar believes the alleged leaked accusation to beryllium important and related to crippled features astir GTA 6. This includes circumstantial crippled features, comments connected the wide advancement of GTA 6 development, timelines to launch, and institution IT information protocols. Rockstar believes that if the comments successful question had leaked they would person been large gaming quality and mightiness adjacent person affected Take-Two’s stock price. When Rockstar officially announced that GTA 6 would beryllium delayed by six months to November 19, 2026, the marketplace worth of Take-Two plummeted $3.75 cardinal successful a azygous day.

Rockstar has besides pointed to its well-established zero tolerance attack to leaks, highlighting that it dismissed a Rockstar worker successful Lincoln, UK successful April 2025, who it alleged disclosed confidential accusation astir GTA 6 to a 3rd enactment who published the accusation to societal media, and dismissed an worker successful the U.S. successful November 2023 and different successful India successful November 2025 for 2 abstracted acts of accusation leaking.

Now, the fired workers person filmed a video successful which they outline their case, and impulse fans not to boycott GTA 6. They are pointing to a scope of T-shirts launched to rise wealth towards their ineligible costs.

Jack Hoxby, IWGB Game Workers Branch subordinate fired by Rockstar past year, said: “We poured years of our lives into helping physique this game. We don't privation you to boycott it. We privation you to assistance america combat for justice.

“Since Rockstar fired america abruptly past year, we’ve seen an unthinkable outpouring of enactment from gamers and workers astir the world.

“Some radical person asked whether they should boycott GTA 6 to protestation connected our behalf. But there’s a amended mode to enactment america and clasp Rockstar to account.

“Buy 1 of our T-shirts. You’ll beryllium helping to triumph justness for america and to support the close of workers everyplace to travel unneurotic and unionise.

“That way, erstwhile GTA 6 comes retired successful November, you tin bask it knowing that you had the backs of the radical who made it.”

The fired Rockstar workers would alternatively supporters bargain a T-shirt than boycott GTA 6.

While this evident boycott was ne'er going to enactment a dent successful GTA 6’s income occurrence (Take-Two main has already hailed GTA 6 preorders arsenic “unprecedented”), the IWGB is aiming to support a beingness successful the nationalist oculus arsenic the important last proceeding gets underway successful September.

In June, Rockstar developers applied for voluntary designation of the IWGB Game Workers Union successful a bid to marque the celebrated developer the 2nd UK games workplace with a recognized union.

If recognized, the national would springiness its members further protections and rights via a ceremonial operation for corporate bargaining connected issues including wage transparency, flexible working, and excessive overtime (crunch), the IWGB said successful a statement. Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM is presently the lone UK workplace with ceremonial national recognition.

The IWGB claims to correspond a “significant portion” of the Rockstar workforce crossed its offices successful Edinburgh, Dundee, Lincoln, Leeds, and London, and that its beingness has contributed to “unprecedented” mean wage rises and fiscal incentives for crunch for the archetypal clip ever.

A spokesperson from Rockstar Games issued IGN the pursuing connection astatine the time: “We strive to marque the champion games imaginable by giving our talented teams world-class enactment environments and ongoing vocation opportunities. We person fostered a civilization which is focused connected teamwork, excellence, and kindness, and wherever we enactment and reward the squad crossed each levels of the concern done competitory compensation and benefits policies. We are arrogant that arsenic a result, our worker retention is good supra the manufacture standard.

"We person received a petition from a national seeking to sermon voluntary recognition. We worth an unfastened and constructive dialog with each stakeholders and volition put to meet.”

Rockstar tin garbage to admit the union, which would past unfastened the doorway to the IWGB submitting its exertion for statutory designation from the Department for Business and Trade's Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). But could its members spell connected strike? The IWGB told IGN “members volition determine connected the organising strategy they usage to secure” recognition.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].