A labour employment tribunal has rejected Rockstar Games’ appeal seeking to block blacklisting allegations from continuing as part of an active legal dispute over alleged union suppression at the Grand Theft Auto 6 studio.
Rockstar first came under scrutiny last October after it dismissed roughly 30 employees at the studio, and every one of those individuals belonged to a union. The firm claimed the people were removed for gross misconduct, but soon afterward the UK’s Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) said Rockstar had carried out “one of the most overt and ruthless acts of union suppression in the history of the gaming industry.” The IWGB then brought a legal action against Rockstar, stressing again that the affected workers were union members.
The next month, more than 200 employees from Rockstar North signed a letter to management criticizing those actions, and the issue has been raised in Parliament ever since. Even UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the dismissals as “deeply troubling.”
Today, the IWGB reported that an employment tribunal has ruled against Rockstar Games’ bid to strike out the blacklisting claims ahead of the scheduled trial (as background, blacklisting is described by legal website Thomson Reuters as the “unlawful act of listing trade union members, activists, or health and safety representatives by an employer(s) to influence hiring or management decisions regarding those individuals”). The IWGB said Rockstar put forward the request during a recent preliminary hearing, but did not provide further detail about the alleged blacklisting. Eurogamer has contacted Rockstar for more information about the claims and its reasons for asking for them to be removed.
With this decision, all of the union’s allegations against the studio related to union suppression will proceed to trial. The hearing is set to start on September 10 and run until October 15.
“This decision is a significant moment for us,” said Ellie Dunstan, one of the workers Rockstar dismissed last October. “Rockstar believed they could control the story. They are wrong, and we’re ready to show that. Our case will now be properly presented and fully examined as it should be. The world will see the evidence about what happened last October. We cared deeply about our roles at Rockstar. Losing our passion, our colleagues, and our livelihoods so suddenly was devastating, and the company’s leadership has treated us with contempt ever since—turning down appeals and not responding to straightforward requests for evidence.
“After months of pushing for our voices to be heard, this is a time to celebrate. The ruling shows that even a company with Rockstar’s backing can be challenged, and employees can come together to insist on accountability. This fight has always been about more than our own circumstances—it’s about making sure workers across the gaming industry and beyond can join together, speak up, and campaign for a more just industry.”
In parallel, IWGB Game Workers Branch chair Spring McParlin-Jones described today’s ruling as a “significant setback for Rockstar’s efforts to evade scrutiny for its actions” and a “crucial step forward in our pursuit of justice for our members.”
“The tribunal has refused to excuse Rockstar from its responsibilities,” McParlin-Jones added, “finding that serious questions of fact still need to be examined about how these workers were identified, recorded, and dismissed—questions that will now be assessed at a full hearing. From the moment employees were taken out of their workplaces without notice, and throughout each stage of the legal process that followed, Rockstar has tried to dodge accountability—denying workers a fair hearing, not engaging with key evidence requests, and now attempting to narrow how the claims against it are considered. People who play games around the world have recognized these tactics, and now a tribunal has also questioned Rockstar’s account.”
McParlin-Jones further said that today’s outcome “strengthens” the union’s case as it prepares for “the final phase of this David versus Goliath legal confrontation” with Rockstar.
Against the backdrop of this ongoing legal battle, Rockstar is also gearing up to release Grand Theft Auto 6, which is expected to launch on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 later this November.