Another step forward has been made by IWGB Game Workers in their efforts towards calling for Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar Games to formally recognise the studio’s union. A new letter addressed to Rockstar studio director Jennifer Kolbe and head of HR Rob Spampinato has been signed by 22 trade union leaders joining in the call for the developer to start bargaining with the IWGB.
“The IWGB has a proud record bringing together workers in the video games sector – launched by the Game Workers Unite international and lately having achieved the first recognition agreement in the sector at ZA/UM,” reads the letter. “Workers at Rockstar have chosen the IWGB for their union, and it is only right that Rockstar respects their choice and agrees to bargain with them. Every worker, including those at Rockstair, deserves to be and should be part of a union.”
NEW 🚨| 22 trade union leaders, representing more than 1.3 million workers, are calling on @rockstargames.com to stop playing games with workers’ rights and recognise the @gameworkers.co.uk .
Read and share the letter below 👇
#Solidarity #StrikeMap
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— Strike Map (@strikemap.org) July 14, 2026 at 7:16 AM
The union leader signees come from a wide range of trade backgrounds, including Artists’ Union England, the British Medical Association, the National Education Union, Social Workers Union, and United Tech and Allied Workers (CWU). Across the 22 trade unions, more than 1.3 million workers are represented from a range of backgrounds. The union leaders ‘involvement in signing this letter certainly appears to mark a strong understanding of the significance that a formally recognised union at Rockstar would have.
This follows a recent report which saw three current Rockstar employees in the UK claiming that Rockstar effectively bakes in crunch into their contracts, alongside overseeing a widening gender pay gap, as well as weaponising bonuses to make workers more compliant. The IWGB is currently helping workers fired from Rockstar (which they allege was an act of union busting) in October of last year by challenging the dismissals through an employment tribunal. A final hearing is currently scheduled to begin in September, and during this a decision will be made as to whether these workers were unlawfully fired for union activity.
