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The company that makes the Grand Theft Auto games laid off more than 30 employees last week in what a union leader says is a blatant example of union busting, with some of the effects being felt in Canada.
Bloomberg reported this last week. that Rockstar Games, owned by Take-Two Interactive Software, has laid off 34 employees in the UK and Canada.
A spokesperson for the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) told CBC they believe three workers in Toronto were involved in the layoffs. It was not immediately clear whether they are part of Rockstar Street in Toronto.audio – actually located in Oakville, Ontario. – or one of their other studios based in the UK or US.
News about layoffs approx.me shortly before a conference call with Take-Two announcing the upcoming and highly anticipated Rockstar release. Grand Craft Auto VI the launch was delayed and is now scheduled to launch in November 2026.. This follows a previous delay that pushed the original release date from late 2025 to May 2026.
The IWGB said all employees were part of the company.private union chat group and were either union members or trying to unionize within the company.
“Rockstar has just committed one of the most egregious and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the gaming industry,” IWGB President Alex Marshall said in a statement. “This blatant disregard for the law and the lives of the workers who make their billions is an insult to their fans and the global industry.”
A Rockstar spokesperson initially said the employees were fired only for “gross misconduct,” but days later said they were divulging company secrets with people outside the company.
The IWGB denied the allegations, saying that “workers communicated only through private and legally protected union channels and did not disclose any information publicly.”
Organizers from the IWGB led protests outside Rockstar and Take-Two's UK offices earlier this week. According to GamesIndustry.biz, employees described fired employees who were “taken out of the building” without much warning or explanation, followed by “outrage, loss, grief” among the laid-off and remaining workers.
“Colding effect” on organizing in Canada
The Entertainment Software Association of Canada, which represents video game developers and publishers in Canada, declined to comment.
“We see an industry of creative talent who is tired of being overworked and frustrated by huge pay disparities, often linked to gender, and a lack of job security and worker voice,” said Carmel Smith, president of the media workers union CWA Canada, which has helped organize game developers in the past.
“A good employer will solve problems, not fire people.”
Carolyn Jeong, a member of Game Workers Unite Montreal, said the situation appears to be “a pretty clear case of union busting.”
“Unfortunately, this practice of making vague allegations of misconduct and using them as justification for termination is also not uncommon,” she told CBC News.
She said such actions could have a “chilling effect” on other game developers, “to kind of scare workers and make it clear that… if you exercise your legally protected right to organize, you could be next.” Jeong also said he hopes the story will help raise awareness of other cases of union repression in the industry.
“It really made the news because it's a big studio because Grand Theft Auto is such a huge franchise. But it happens all the time with smaller studios too,” she said.
Legal challenge in UK
On Thursday The IWGB has officially filed a claim for unfair dismissal from Rockstar.adding that the gaming company “refused” to meet with the union.
“We are confident that what we have seen here is pure and simple union busting, and we will provide full legal protection through our expert team of support specialists, lawyers and attorneys,” Marshall said, according to a Gamesindustry.biz report.
“Employers such as Rockstar would do well to understand that private spaces such as union Discord servers are protected and that their company’s contractual provisions do not supersede UK law.”
