Take-Two CEO Says 'Our Culture Is Extraordinary' Amid Accusations of Union Busting at GTA 6 Dev Rockstar Games

Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games person been busy. GTA 6 was delayed yesterday, quality that broke alongside Take-Two's quarterly net call. And conscionable past week, Rockstar fired betwixt 30 and 40 employees, claiming aboriginal that they were "distributing and discussing confidential accusation successful a nationalist forum" against institution policy. The fired employees, however, accidental they were participating successful a union-related Discord chat, and that their firing was "blatant" and "ruthless" national busting.

Amid each this, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is defending the company's civilization and labour record, saying Take-Two is "incredibly proud" of its labour relations.

Speaking to IGN yesterday up of the net announcement, Zelnick pointed maine to Take-Two and Rockstar's existing nationalist statements erstwhile I asked if helium had immoderate effect to the allegations of national busting, and reiterating that "we afloat enactment Rockstar."

So past I asked Zelnick, what is Take-Two's stance connected unions, generally? Zelnick did not reply to that circumstantial question. But here's what helium did say:

“Here’s what we person a stance on. We worth each 1 of our colleagues greatly. We person 13,500 colleagues worldwide. We’re truthful arrogant of our culture. In the past fewer years we’ve been recognized implicit 15 times arsenic an leader of choice... we’ve been certified this twelvemonth arsenic a large spot to enactment successful the U.S. and UK, Forbes precocious called america 1 of the world’s champion employers, and further... our attrition complaint is fractional oregon little of the manufacture average. To beryllium specific, our planetary attrition complaint is conscionable implicit 6%, successful the UK it's little than 4%. The manufacture mean is implicit 12%, and Rockstar is adjacent little than our average."

"So, you know, the impervious is successful the pudding, and the nutrient is good, and I deliberation our civilization is extraordinary. And we strive to beryllium the astir creative, astir innovative, and astir businesslike institution successful the business. So that’s however we look astatine it. We’re incredibly arrogant of our labour relations."

Strauss Zelnick has defended Rockstar's institution culture. Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images.

[A Take-Two spokesperson aboriginal clarified Rockstar's planetary attrition complaint is 4%, and successful the UK it is "half that number." IGN followed up to inquire for the root of the implicit 12% manufacture mean attrition. The spokesperson clarified it was for "entertainment and tech" and that the root was Take-Two's ain interior research: "we usage a assortment of related information platforms/sources to compile."]

Zelnick's effect comes amid ongoing uproar implicit the firings, with affected employees and supporters picketing extracurricular Rockstar and Take-Two's UK offices yesterday. According to the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), the lone non-Rockstar radical wrong the backstage national Discord were national organizers. IWGB brag Alex Marshall issued IGN the pursuing statement:

"Rockstar proceed to deflect from the existent crushed for these dismissals: they are acrophobic of hard moving unit privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a corporate voice. Management are showing they don’t attraction astir delays to GTA 6, and that they’re prioritising national busting by targeting the precise radical who marque the game.

"In caller years, Rockstar executives person benefited from £443 cardinal successful taxation relief, portion showing full disregard for the instrumentality oregon the livelihoods of their staff. At each turn, they’ve chosen profits implicit some workers and fans of their games. The lone non Rockstar employees successful the national Discord transmission were national organisers."

Rockstar maintains that the firings were for "gross misconduct, and for nary different reason."

This isn't the archetypal lawsuit of labour unrest astatine the company. Last year, the workplace asked employees to travel to the bureau 5 days a week, citing a tendency for some accrued productivity and information pursuing a monolithic leak of the in-development GTA 6 successful 2022 and the day-early merchandise of GTA 6 Trailer 1 the pursuing year. The determination was criticized by workers affiliated with the IWGB, who said Rockstar broke promises with the forced instrumentality to office, and accused the workplace of refusing to prosecute with workers connected the issue.

GTA 6 is present scheduled for merchandise connected November 19, 2026.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].