Rockstar North morale is said to be exceptionally low, and not necessarily because of another GTA 6 delay
New reports of recent layoffs at Rockstar Games aren't very optimistic, especially after another GTA 6 delay.
Low morale at Rockstar Games is the result of recent layoffs, which allegedly indicate that the studio prioritizes destroying its employees' union over finishing Grand Theft Auto 6.
Thursday finally brought news about the new GTA – but definitely not the kind players were hoping for. The delay of the title, seen as the biggest release of the decade, by over six months, really bummed out fans of the series. After months of silence from Rockstar Games, they were starting to lose hope again.
As if that weren't enough, the issue of layoffs has been looming over the developer for a week, which doesn't improve the mood of players waiting for news from the studio.
Layoffs
The latest news isn't going to cheer up worried fans at all. Someone claiming to be a Rockstar Games employee (verified by those running GTAforums) posted a message describing the grim atmosphere in the studio after the dismissal of "over 34" colleagues (via @videotechuk on X).
In the message, that person explained how those developers got "friendly" invites for a chat, only to be handed a letter telling them they were being fired for "gross misconduct." This was related to posts on Discord, where employees allegedly shared confidential info.
HR was supposed to give a quick call to absent employees, no matter how they reacted (even if it was a panic attack, which HR ignored) or what their situation was (some of the laid-off employees were on leave). No evidence was provided when the rest of the team requested it—the author of the post didn't find any confidential information on the union's Discord channel.
Destroying the Union more important than GTA 6
The internet user also mentioned that among those affected by this purge were experienced devs, including team leaders, senior artists, animators, programmers, etc. In other words, people who are not easy to replace and who are essential during the development of a game. Especially one like the new Grand Theft Auto.
In this context, the author of the post believes that the actual reason for the layoffs was these individuals' activity in the union. The union had reportedly grown to 250 people. Now there are concerns that if Rockstar "gets away with it," it will be a license for further "oppression" of the union.
They have fired over 34 of us now. There were over 250 of us in that Union/Employee Discord group. There is the fear that if they get away with this, they'll have nothing stopping them from doing this again and again.
Those of us who are lucky and remain for now work in fear! Fearful when talking to each other at the tea prep, fearful that we're next in line and are easily got rid of, too scared to go outside the studio and talk to (or even acknowledge) our colleagues outside protesting in fear of reprisals. Morale in the studio is at rock bottom. When we should be excited about what's to come over the next year we are now totally deflated and our trust and confidence in others is totally shot.
Which is the truly heartbreaking part, as for us in the Union, all of our ambition was to make R* a happier, fairer, safer and more equitable place. That's all. What has happened clearly shows that we care more about the wellbeing of our colleagues at Rockstar than the Company does.
The union remains unbowed and is fighting to win the reinstatement of every dismissed member of staff at Rockstar through legal means and campaigning.
This fight is critical, if Rockstar can get away with this, they will keep treating their workers with disdain, disrespect, and subjecting them to continued illegal treatment.
If these details are true, it would back up the claims IWGB (Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain) has made against Rockstar Games. Yesterday, members of this group protested outside the studio's London office, and GTABase.com covered the event.
On X, a group shared statements from three former employees of the company and a representative of IWGB. Their testimonies seem to align with what an anonymous creator shared on the mentioned forum. The people over at GTABase.com are urging fans to "spread the word" about the layoffs and how, according to an IWGB rep, Rockstar seems more focused on battling the union than getting GTA 6 out on time.
Spread the word! Rockstar's ruthless union busting shouldn't be swept under the rug by misleading statements - the over 30 fired workers were talented and hard working individuals who put their heart and soul into the games they make, and by firing them Rockstar have admitted they care more about crushing the union than they do about getting GTA VI out on time, looking after there fans or treating staff with dignity and respect.
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Author: Jacob Blazewicz
Graduated with a master's degree in Polish Studies from the University of Warsaw with a thesis dedicated to this very subject. Started his adventure with gamepressure.com in 2015, writing in the Newsroom and later also in the film and technology sections (also contributed to the Encyclopedia). Interested in video games (and not only video games) for years. He began with platform games and, to this day, remains a big fan of them (including Metroidvania). Also shows interest in card games (including paper), fighting games, soulslikes, and basically everything about games as such. Marvels at pixelated characters from games dating back to the time of the Game Boy (if not older).
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