Some new details from a UK employment tribunal today shed further light on Rockstar’s rationale for firing 34 employees in late 2025. YouTube group People Make Games was able to see Rockstar’s submitted evidence themselves, and it centers around a Discord server created by members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and Rockstar Staff.
One of these exchanges involves two fired employees discussing the time-off rule that limits absences to five per team. Another worker talked about a 32-player QA session for an “unannounced live service,” likely GTA 6. Employees were criticizing Rockstar’s management of the QA team, stating that the organization of 32 player QA session was mismanaged.
According to PMG, Rockstar stated the following concerning these details:
Operation Sports App
Your ultimate companion for sports gaming. Access in-depth coverage, thoughtful discussion, and a community built around the games—and sports—you love.
Your ultimate sports gaming companion.
“They [the employees] discussed the specific number of online players planned for this service, a material feature of this new title, which has not yet been revealed by Rockstar.”
Ironically, one QA tester was discussing with an external (non-Rockstar) Discord member that the Rockstar North QA department does not have a crunch culture. He was allegedly fired for this message, even though it wasn’t critical in nature.
Stirring The Pot
This story gets stranger and stranger the more I cover it. The more details we get, the less it looks good for Rockstar. However, as seen in the ruling against interim relief, the courts seem to favor the corporation regardless.
Rockstar’s evidence also spotlights journalist Scott Alsworth’s role in the Discord server. As an IWGB rep with a history at Bohemia Interarticle and articles in The Morning Star (including GTA pieces), the company flagged him as a “legitimate risk” for potential leaks. Of course, this raises questions about surveillance. The Discord server was private, so who was really monitoring it for Rockstar?
Labor tensions, layoffs, and crunch scandals are nothing new in the gaming industry. But laying off people over what appear to be benign chats is hard to defend. For example, the no-crunch affirmations hinted by one employee should boost morale, so why fire them? The IWGB is dedicated to fighting on, with the full hearing still ahead of us. Stay tuned for the latest on this whole debacle.
