Rockstar staff spurn boycott, sell merchandise to support legal challenge
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Former Rockstar Games staff who were dismissed last year and are now locked in a legal dispute with the studio have asked the public not to boycott GTA 6, urging fans instead to support their cause by buying union merchandise. The 34 workers were fired in November after a row reportedly triggered by discussion of a new company Slack policy on a union-run Discord server; Rockstar accused them of leaking confidential information, while the Independent Workers' union of Great Britain (IWGB) maintains the sackings amounted to union busting. The episode is tied to a wider unionisation drive among Rockstar staff, who have since formed the Rockstar Games Workers Union and sought recognition from the company ahead of GTA 6's release.
To fund the fight, the IWGB and the dismissed workers launched "Rockstar 34 Solidarity" t-shirts priced at £25, with proceeds going to their legal "Fighting Fund"; pre-orders ran until 30 August, with shipping expected from mid-September. The dispute culminates in a final trial that began on 10 September, and no further developments have since been reported, leaving the case's outcome to be determined through that legal process while GTA 6 itself remains due for release in November.
- Fired Rockstar staff urge fans to buy union merch, not boycott GTA 6
- 34 workers sacked in November amid union-busting allegations
- Final trial began 10 September; funds support their legal fight
New here? Start with this
Rockstar Games is one of the world's biggest video game studios, best known for the Grand Theft Auto series, with the long-awaited GTA 6 due out in November. In November last year, the company sacked 34 members of staff following a dispute that reportedly started with discussions of a new internal Slack policy on a Discord server run by a workers' union. Rockstar says the group leaked confidential information, while the Independent Workers' union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents them, says the dismissals amounted to union busting.
The sacked workers are now taking legal action against Rockstar, with a final trial due to begin on 10 September. The case sits alongside a broader push by current Rockstar employees, working with the IWGB, to form a recognised union at the studio, something that would give staff a formal voice in negotiations with management.
The dispute matters because it has become entangled with the release of GTA 6, one of the most anticipated games in years, raising questions among fans about whether buying the game could be seen as taking a side in the row between the company and its former employees.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of the fired workers argue that consumers have real leverage in a dispute like this, and choosing targeted solidarity over a blunt boycott lets fans help specific individuals without punishing thousands of other Rockstar staff or denying themselves a game many have anticipated for years. They see the union framing as important: if confidential-information allegations were in fact a pretext to suppress organising around a contentious Slack policy, then supporting the Fighting Fund is a way of defending workers' basic right to discuss workplace conditions and to unionise without fear of dismissal. Buying a t-shirt is a low-cost, positive way for the public to back due process and fair treatment ahead of a trial that will determine who was in the right.
The case against
Those more sympathetic to Rockstar's position, or simply sceptical of the campaign, would argue that a company is entitled to enforce confidentiality obligations that protect its commercial interests, especially around a hugely anticipated and valuable release like GTA 6, and that discussing internal policy changes on an external union-run Discord may reasonably be judged a breach regardless of the union's motives. They might also note that the matter is still before a tribunal, so publicly fundraising and campaigning before a verdict risks pre-judging the case and pressuring the company through reputational means rather than letting the legal process decide the facts. From this view, fans and the public would be wise to withhold judgement on the merits until the 10 September trial concludes rather than treating merchandise sales as a proxy for who is right.
More coverage
Business Celebrity Companies Entertainment
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Rock Paper Shotgun as “Rather than calling for GTA 6 boycott, fired Rockstar workers urge players to support them in their legal battle against the studio by buying union merch”.