Rockstar in court in Glasgow: the firings, the union and the Discord mole

Confirmed Published on October 12, 2026 4 min read By Alex di LeonidaGuide Last checked October 12, 2026

Illustration: a Victorian sandstone building in Glasgow at dusk, a group of people with blank placards outside and a smartphone with a blurred chat in the foreground — Original illustration: the Rockstar firings case in Glasgow. Image: Leonidaguide

While GTA 6 marketing fills arenas and beaches, an employment tribunal in Glasgow is weighing how Rockstar treated some of the people who built it. The case concerns more than thirty UK staff fired at the end of October 2025: the studio says they shared confidential information about the game, while the IWGB union representing them says they were targeted for organizing. The final hearing began in September and, according to the press, was scheduled into mid-October.

The two versions

The case turns on why. Rockstar says it acted to protect the game: in a Discord server set up to discuss unionizing, used by hundreds of people, comments about internal processes and confidential development details allegedly circulated at a time when any GTA 6 leak was worth a fortune. The workers say the real goal was to keep the union out of the company.

ReportedWhat came out in the hearing, according to Kotaku

The mole: an employee referred to as “AB” allegedly passed screenshots of the union Discord to Charlie Kinloch, Rockstar Lincoln co-studio manager and HR director, for more than two years. Rockstar says AB did so on their own initiative; the workers claim AB and others were rewarded with time off. AB is not among the witnesses who can be questioned.
The timing: the workers’ lawyer pointed out that Kinloch knew about some of the disputed comments as early as March and June 2025, while the firings came in October. Kinloch replied that by October things were different: the server was growing fast, with many members who could not be identified, and the company was on the eve of a major announcement.
The threshold: according to the workers, Rockstar knew they were about twelve members short of the 10% of the workforce needed to seek union recognition. Kinloch said he never took an interest in the union’s status.
The “32-player format”: among the information Rockstar says leaked in the server is a mysterious “32-player format”. The workers counter that channels were siloed and access verified; Rockstar claims a journalist was present in one of them.

The link to the delay

The timing has drawn attention from the start: the firings at the end of October, the delay announced days later. In the hearing Kinloch said he read comments about crunch and working conditions “through the lens” of a commercially sensitive announcement, which turned out to be the delay. Nothing in the reported testimony says the delay was caused by the workers or the union: according to Rockstar, it was the announcement that made any leak more dangerous.

What happens next

The tribunal will hear more management witnesses, then reach a decision. In January 2026 a request for interim relief keeping the workers on the payroll had already been refused, but that was an urgent measure, not a ruling on the merits. A decision could land around the game’s release, or later.

The former employees, for their part, have asked players not to boycott GTA 6 and to support their case instead: the game, they say, is their work too.

In short

A Glasgow tribunal is hearing the case of the more than thirty Rockstar developers fired at the end of October 2025, backed by the IWGB union.
Rockstar cites leaks of confidential information; the workers call it an attack on union organizing.
The hearing revealed that an employee, “AB”, passed screenshots of the union Discord to Rockstar Lincoln’s HR director for over two years.
The workers’ side disputes the timing: some comments were known for months, and the firings came days before the delay announcement.
Among the secrets Rockstar says leaked is a “32-player format”, never explained.
The former employees are asking players not to boycott the game.

Frequently asked questions

Why did Rockstar fire employees in 2025?

According to Rockstar, for gross misconduct: they allegedly shared confidential development information in a Discord server. The former employees and the IWGB union say the real reason was union activity.

Is GTA 6’s delay connected to the firings?

The dates are very close, but the reported testimony does not show the delay was caused by the workers. Rockstar says the upcoming announcement made any leak riskier.

What is GTA 6’s 32-player format?

Nobody knows. Rockstar mentioned it in the tribunal among the confidential details that allegedly circulated in the server, without further explanation.

When is the ruling?

There is no date. The final hearing was scheduled into mid-October 2026, after which the tribunal will decide.