adminThe Rockstar employment tribunal is examining competing explanations for the dismissal of 34 staff members. Rockstar says the employees were fired over serious misconduct and the disclosure of confidential information, while the claimants argue that their union activities were the real reason. The hearing is expected to run until October 16.
Image credit: Rockstar Games
Rockstar employment tribunal: the claimants’ case
The claimants allege that someone inside the union’s Discord server passed information to Rockstar’s human resources team. According to their filings, this may have started as early as February 2024, with information allegedly reaching HR manager and co-studio operations director Charlie Kinloch.
They also say the alleged source reported a sharp increase in union recruitment in October 2025. The claimants connect that growth to membership approaching the 10% threshold required for statutory recognition in the UK. The dismissals followed weeks later, they say.
The employees maintain that they received no advance warning and were escorted out of the building without being given specific allegations at the time. They further claim that union server membership fell considerably in the days after the dismissals. These are allegations presented by the claimants, not findings established by the tribunal.
Rockstar’s response to the allegations
Rockstar rejects the claim that the dismissals were driven by union organizing. The company says it has tightened protection of confidential material after previous leaks, including the online publication of unfinished Grand Theft Auto 6 development footage. It argues that the creative and commercial value of its game designs warrants strict safeguards, comparing the need for secrecy with that of closely guarded corporate formulas at companies such as Apple and Coca-Cola.
In its filings, Rockstar describes the union’s Discord server as having three “rooms” with different levels of access and openness. By October 2025, the largest reportedly had about 350 members, many of them anonymous. Rockstar alleges that dismissed employees allowed people outside the company—including former staff, competitors and a journalist—to see sensitive internal information.
The company also points to hostile comments about managers and Rockstar that it says appeared in the server. It characterizes the dismissals as the result of an “irretrievable breakdown in trust and confidence,” rather than an effort to prevent union activity. Rockstar further notes that three of the dismissed staff in Canada were not union members.
What the tribunal will consider
The central issue is the reason for the dismissals: whether they followed misconduct involving confidential information, as Rockstar argues, or were connected to union activities, as the claimants allege. The tribunal will assess the evidence and arguments from both sides; the parties’ filings alone do not determine the outcome.
For readers following the Rockstar employment tribunal, the key distinction is between the parties’ claims and any conclusions reached by the tribunal. The proceedings are expected to continue until October 16, and the hearing’s evidence will be important to understanding how the dispute is resolved.
