Rockstar Games employees are scheduled to hold a vote on union recognition over a two-week period in November, coinciding with the console release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Should the vote favor unionization, the IWGB Rockstar Game Workers Union would become the largest game industry union in the UK, potentially granting employees a stronger voice on issues such as pay, overtime, job security, and the implementation of generative AI policies.
Negotiations between the union and Rockstar management regarding the terms of recognition have been ongoing since July, though unionization efforts have been active for a longer duration. The movement faced significant scrutiny in October 2025 when Rockstar dismissed 31 employees, an action the IWGB characterized as "the most brazen act of union busting the games industry has ever seen." Rockstar contended that the terminated employees were leaking Grand Theft Auto 6 information via a public Discord server, a claim currently under review by an employment tribunal in Scotland.
"This November, we have the chance to make gaming history not once but twice. As all our hard work, skill and creativity are experienced by GTA VI players for the first time, our voices will now be heard for the first time too," stated Shanti Easton-Steel, a committee member for the Rockstar Game Workers Union. "For me, this vote comes down to ensuring employees at Rockstar get honesty and openness surrounding the decisions that affect them. When management choices are kept hidden, we can't properly address issues like the gender pay gap, the uneven and ever-changing policies on overtime pay, or the concerns many co-workers hold around job security post-release. This is our moment to secure a window onto the decisions that shape our lives, and a seat at the table to improve them. I'm immensely proud of the games Rockstar gives its fans—I want to be equally proud of the voice Rockstar gives its staff."
Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB Union, remarked, "For anyone who cares about the games industry or the people who keep it running, this vote is just as historic as the game release. But for workers at Rockstar, it is so much more personal: it is fundamentally a choice about whether you get to have a say in how your day-to-day life is organised."
The union recognition vote is set to take place from November 12 to November 26, encompassing the week before and the week after Grand Theft Auto 6's scheduled console launch on November 19. While Rockstar has not officially commented on the impending vote, Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar's head of publishing, suggested in a recent Bloomberg feature on the making of Grand Theft Auto 6 that the studio would not oppose unionization, stating, "We go where the team goes. So if they want a union, they will have a union."