According to Wccftech, Rockstar Games fired 34 employees across its North and Toronto offices on November 1 following accusations of union-busting. Five days later, the company denied these claims, stating the employees were terminated for “gross misconduct” involving “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum.” Now, investigative journalists at People Make Games have uncovered that the alleged misconduct involved employees discussing changes to Rockstar’s internal Slack policies in a private, employee-only Discord server. The policy changes in October removed miscellaneous channels, eliminating spaces for non-work discussions. Over 200 Rockstar employees have since signed a support letter, and protests have occurred outside offices in Edinburgh, London, and Paris demanding reinstatement.
The Discord server details
Here’s the thing that makes this situation particularly messy. The Discord server in question wasn’t some public fan community anyone could join. It was created back in 2022 specifically for union members to discuss working conditions, and access was restricted to verified IWGB members and Rockstar employees who had confirmed their identity. Basically, it was a private space for workers to talk about workplace issues – exactly the kind of activity that’s typically protected under UK labor law.
The legal battle ahead
So why is Rockstar calling this a “public forum”? Because Discord isn’t their official company communication platform. That technicality might be enough for them to argue this constitutes sharing internal information outside company channels. But let’s be real – this looks nothing like your typical leak situation where employees spill game details to the public. We’re talking about workers discussing policy changes that directly affect their working conditions in what was essentially their digital break room. The IWGB has already filed two legal claims against Rockstar, and this will likely come down to how a judge interprets what constitutes a “public forum” versus protected union activity.
The bigger picture
This case highlights the tricky landscape of modern workplace organizing. Companies increasingly monitor employee communications across all platforms, while workers naturally seek spaces to discuss conditions freely. When your internal Slack gets “purged” of casual channels, where exactly are employees supposed to have non-work-related conversations? The timing is also interesting – we’re getting closer to GTA VI’s launch, but this clearly isn’t about preventing game leaks. It’s about control over how employees communicate about their workplace. The People Make Games investigation provides crucial context that makes Rockstar’s “gross misconduct” claims look pretty shaky.
