When a game is at the centre of a labour dispute, the instinct for concerned fans is to reach for a boycott. But the 34 workers at the heart of the Rockstar Games union fight are asking people to do the opposite when GTA 6 launches in November: play it, enjoy it — and if you want to support them, buy a T-shirt instead.
The message, shared in a video posted by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), lands at a pointed moment. The final hearing of the workers’ legal battle against Rockstar is due to begin in Glasgow on 10 September. With GTA 6 on the horizon, the IWGB is pushing for attention on the court case rather than calls to boycott the game the fired developers spent years building.
How It Came to This
The firings happened in November 2025. Thirty-one workers at Rockstar North in Edinburgh and three in Canada were dismissed in what the IWGB called “one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry.” The catalyst, reportedly, was a private Discord server in which union members discussed a new Slack workplace policy — communications the workers say were internal and private.
Rockstar accused the employees of “distributing and discussing confidential information” in a public forum, a characterisation the IWGB firmly rejected, describing it as an attempt to “mischaracterise workers speaking about their working conditions in a private forum as ‘leaking information’.”
Rallies followed — including outside Rockstar North’s Edinburgh offices and Take-Two’s London headquarters. Then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the dismissals as “a deeply concerning case.” In June 2026, a tribunal ruled that the IWGB could present its blacklisting claim — the allegation that Rockstar compiled a list of union members and used it to target those it fired, which would violate the Employment Relations Act. The full trial begins next month.
Buy a T-Shirt, Don’t Skip the Game
The fired workers’ video is pointed and generous in equal measure. They outline the grim speed of their dismissals — called into meetings without warning, fired without representation, with “gross misconduct” stamped on their records before they could respond — and then ask fans not to punish the game as a result.
“We poured years of our lives into helping build this game. We don’t want you to boycott it. We want you to help us fight for justice. That way, when GTA 6 comes out in November, you can enjoy it knowing that you had the backs of the people who made it.”
— Jack Hoxby, IWGB Game Workers Branch member and fired Rockstar developer
Instead, the IWGB is selling the “Rockstar 34 Solidarity” T-shirts — £25 each, available to pre-order until 30 August, with shipping expected by mid-September. All proceeds go to the workers’ legal Fighting Fund.
Rockstar’s Position and the Workers’ Rebuttal
Rockstar has maintained throughout that the dismissals were not related to union membership or activities, insisting the developers were let go for leaking game content. The IWGB disputes this version of events entirely, saying the workers were fired for discussing workplace conditions amongst themselves — something protected by UK law.
In the months since the original firings, remaining Rockstar developers and the IWGB have continued organising, forming the Rockstar Games Workers Union as the legal case progresses. The dual track — legal challenge plus ongoing worker organisation — gives the dispute a shape that goes beyond the individual case of the 34.
The Trial Begins in September
The September 10th Glasgow hearing is the culmination of nearly a year of tribunal proceedings. The blacklisting claim — that Rockstar deliberately identified union members for dismissal — is among the most serious allegations in the case. The Employment Relations Act is explicit: compiling records of union membership to treat workers less favourably is unlawful.
The timing creates an unusual situation where one of gaming’s most anticipated releases arrives while its developer is simultaneously fighting a union-busting case in court. The workers’ message cuts through the noise: they don’t want GTA 6 to fail. They want justice — and they want fans to help fund the fight for it.
