Rockstar Employees to Hold Landmark Union Vote Coinciding with GTA 6 Launch

Rockstar staff are set to vote on union recognition, with the ballot taking place from November 12-26—a period that overlaps with the highly anticipated release of GTA 6 on November 19. The vote will determine whether the IWGB Union is officially recognized at Rockstar.

The recognition deal was reached after months of negotiations, even as the IWGB and Rockstar were at odds over the firing of 31 workers in October last year for allegedly leaking company secrets. The IWGB claims the workers were unlawfully dismissed and has accused Rockstar Games of union busting. The vote will also coincide with the closing submissions of the ongoing employment tribunal, scheduled for November 17-18.

According to the IWGB, the agreement would give workers a voice on issues such as pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working arrangements, and generative AI policies. Rockstar North, a developer under GTA publisher Rockstar Games, is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. If the IWGB Rockstar Game Workers Union wins the vote, it will become the largest recognized union in the UK games industry and, according to officials, could inspire unionization efforts across the sector.

Throughout the process, Rockstar has shown a willingness to cooperate with staff on union recognition. Jennifer Kolbe, Head of Publishing at Rockstar, recently told Bloomberg: “We go where the team goes. So if they want a union, they will have a union.”

Shanti Easton-Steel, a production coordinator at Rockstar North and a committee member of the Rockstar Game Workers Union, commented: “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 6 players for the first time, our voices will now be heard for the first time too.

“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, called the vote “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,” he continued.

“From pay and pensions to parental leave and overtime, this agreement is a real chance to be involved in decision-making at Rockstar by becoming part of a democratic and member-led union.”

Photo by Lesley Martin / AFP via Getty Images.