Rockstar Employee Terminations Linked to Internal Message Sharing, Not Game Leaks

Rockstar Games terminated more than 30 employees across its United Kingdom and Canada offices near the end of October. At the time, both Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two Interactive stated that the employees had been dismissed for "gross misconduct." However, new reporting from People Make Games indicates that these terminations had nothing to do with employees leaking secrets from Grand Theft Auto 6 or any other Rockstar projects.

According to People Make Games, the situation stemmed from internal company messages that were shared on a Discord server used by staff members and representatives of the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain. The messages in question concerned changes to Rockstar's Slack policy, which removed channels where workers could discuss topics unrelated to their office work.

The report highlights Rockstar's extremely tight security measures, noting that employees cannot even access their email unless they are physically present in the office. One of the employees apparently posted information about the Slack policy changes to the Discord server at a time when most other developers had not yet received any official communication about these modifications.

People Make Games' source suggests that someone participating in the Discord server brought this shared message to the attention of Rockstar management. This allegedly triggered an internal investigation that ultimately resulted in the employees being dismissed from the company.

Following these terminations, the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain accused Rockstar of union busting and filed a legal claim on behalf of the staff members who lost their jobs. More than 200 Rockstar employees signed a letter demanding that the fired workers be reinstated. Currently, there appears to be no resolution in sight, and the case may proceed to court in the United Kingdom to determine the fate of Rockstar's former developers.