Rockstar Games has recently responded to claims that they fired employees working on Grand Theft Auto 6 over union talks. According to the publisher, GTA 6 staff were let go for posting leaks on Discord.
GTA 6 Staff Were Fired for Posting Leaks, Claims Rockstar Games
In October, Rockstar Games came under fire after the studio fired over 30 employees. At the time, a British union group claimed that the Grand Theft Auto publisher was retaliating over unionization talks. However, Rockstar Games has now responded to these claims and says that it was actually due to GTA 6 staff leaking information.
In a response posted on November 5, Rockstar Games said the fired employees were posting leaks in a Discord channel. “We took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum. It was a violation of our company policies. This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”
It’s unclear what specifically was leaked by the ex-employees. While some speculated that it was Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks, Rockstar Games doesn’t actually say that in their statement. Although the employees worked on GTA, the studio didn’t reveal what confidential information was allegedly shared in the Discord server.
British Union Claims GTA 6 Firings Were Linked to Unionization Talks
While Rockstar Games claims that the mass firings were tied to GTA 6 staff leaking information, the studio is still being criticized for the layoffs. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain claims that the mass firings were related to unionization talks among the Grand Theft Auto 6 employees.
In a statement released, the union group said that every fired employee was in active talks to unionize at Rockstar. According to a report from Bloomberg, the group called it an act of union busting. “The group is calling the firings ‘one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry.’”
Interestingly, the Independent Workers’ Union also claims that the fired GTA 6 employees were in a private Discord channel. However, they claim the private channel was being used to discuss unionization efforts and not leaked information. So this situation has now become a he-said-she-said scenario.
Fans React to GTA 6 Leak Controversy
However, while many players reacting to the situation were giving Grand Theft Auto studio the benefit of the doubt, some were skeptical over their vague claims of “leaked information.” Fans of the GTA series were specifically concerned with the studio not stating what the leaks were actually about.
“On one hand, that’s pretty damning if they have proof of it. On the other hand, there’s zero reason to believe Rockstar’s telling the truth about anything” a user on the GTA subreddit wrote for example. Another fan exclaimed: “Yeah, what leaks? They just fired them because of money and now looking for excuses so employees would not retaliate.” Only time will tell if Rockstar Games decides to further elaborate on the firings following criticism.
The post Rockstar Games Fires GTA 6 Employees Over Leaks, According to Official Statement appeared first on VICE.
