Rockstar workers launch bid for union recognition following mass firings

• Rockstar Games workers have formally applied for voluntary recognition of the IWGB Game Workers Union, in a move that could make Rockstar the second UK games studio with a recognised union after ZA/UM.
• The recognition bid would create a formal structure for collective bargaining on issues including pay transparency, flexible working, and “crunch” - excessive overtime
• The application comes amid an ongoing legal dispute over alleged union-busting at the studio, following the sudden dismissals of 31 IWGB union members in October 2025

Wednesday 30 June 2026: Workers at Rockstar Games have submitted a request for voluntary recognition of the IWGB Game Workers Union, in a move that could make the studio the second UK games studio with a recognised union.

If successful, the recognition would follow IWGB members at ZA/UM, who became the first workers in the UK games industry to achieve union recognition in October 2025. Workers in the UK have the right to join a union and organise without formal recognition, but recognition gives members additional protections and rights, and opens formal channels for collective bargaining with management.

The recognition request comes amid an ongoing legal dispute between Rockstar management and the IWGB over allegations relating to the dismissal of 31 union members in October 2025. The IWGB is challenging the dismissals through an employment tribunal, with a final hearing scheduled to begin in September 2026, where it will be decided whether workers were unlawfully fired for trade union activity.

IWGB members have been actively organising at Rockstar since 2019 and claim they now represent a significant proportion of the workforce across each of the studio’s sites in Edinburgh, Dundee, Lincoln, Leeds and London. The IWGB says that since the growth of the union, Rockstar has already made improvements to workers' conditions including unprecedented average pay rises and financial incentives for crunch for the first time ever.

The union's stated priorities for recognition are improving pay transparency, strengthening flexible working arrangements, and addressing “crunch” - excessive overtime in the lead up to a game release.

The application comes as Grand Theft Auto VI, Rockstar’s upcoming release, reportedly generated $3 billion in pre-orders after opening last week.

Josh Walter, a Senior QA tester at Rockstar’s Lincoln site, said: “Rockstar leads the industry in the games we create. We believe it can also lead the industry in how it treats the people who make them.

There is so much that is special about the studio and the work we put out. We want to protect that. When people are confronted with pay disparities, excessive overtime or a lack of flexibility in arrangements, they are not in the best position to do their best work.

We want to sit down with management and build a future where both the games and the conditions of the people who make them are as strong as possible.”

Shanti Easton-Steel, a Production Co-ordinator at Rockstar North, said: “This is a landmark moment for the Rockstar Game Workers Union, and hopefully for the industry as a whole.

It’s thanks to the hard work of so many of our members - both those currently with us and those who were fired last October - that we are now in a strong enough position to pursue formal recognition. Whilst it’s painful that our dismissed colleagues are not here to share this milestone moment, the best way we can honour their contribution now is by succeeding in the fight they helped us to start, and making them proud to have been a part of it.

This recognition bid only comes after years of effort by our members and could not have happened without the support of many of our non-member colleagues too. We hope lots more people will now feel comfortable to join the union, but even for those that don't, we ask that they remain supportive of the cause as we move forward with momentum towards our key objectives of pay transparency, fairer crunch practices and better flexible working arrangements.”

Alex Marshall, President of the IWGB Union, said: “Many people assumed that Rockstar dismissing 31 union members last year would weaken organising at the company - but in fact the union is now stronger than ever.

Over the last 7 years, workers have built a significant presence across Rockstar’s sites, and now represent a large proportion of the workforce. Applying for union recognition is the next step in strengthening their presence in the workplace. Rockstar has maintained that it respects workers’ trade union rights. This is now an opportunity for it to demonstrate that in practice.

GTA VI has reportedly already generated more than $3 billion in preorder sales. Rockstar bosses can easily afford to sit around the table with the people whose hard work created these games, and give them a meaningful voice in their workplace.”