The ongoing employment tribunal in Glasgow, Scotland, concerning allegations of union-busting at Rockstar Games has brought forth new details, including claims of a junior employee acting as a mole within a private Discord server.
Rockstar Games maintains that more than 30 employees were dismissed last year for gross misconduct, including the leaking of sensitive information related to Grand Theft Auto 6's development. Conversely, the fired developers assert that the studio's actions were intended to prevent the UK trade group IWGB from establishing a union presence within the company.
Central to the latest proceedings is the testimony of Charlie Kinloch, a co-studio manager and HR director at Rockstar Lincoln. He was questioned about allegations that an employee, identified by the alias "AB," provided management with screenshots of union activity from a Discord server for over two years. This alleged surveillance provided studio leadership with considerable insight into internal discussions among developers.
Lawyers for the fired employees questioned why Rockstar acted only in October 2025 if Kinloch had access to this information for years. Kinloch contended that his primary concern was mitigating risks to Rockstar from potential leaks, not the union status of the employees. He explained that his view of the Discord comments shifted significantly in October 2025 due to the impending major announcement regarding the development of the studio's next project, later revealed to be GTA 6. Coupled with intense public interest and media speculation surrounding the game at that time, any leak of internal discussions about working hours or company practices could have caused significant commercial damage.
Rockstar Games announced a delay for GTA 6 from May 2026 to November 2026 just days after the firings in late October. This timing fueled speculation about a connection between the dismissals and the development delays, and whether unionization efforts played a role.
During questioning, Kinloch addressed the urgency behind the firings, explaining that the Discord server's membership was growing at an exponential rate in October 2025, with many new members whose identities were unknown to the company. He stated that the