The final hearing in the Rockstar Games versus the 31 fired GTA 6 developers employment tribunal has begun in Scotland, and it’s opened to rallies and rousing speeches from the people unceremoniously marched out of the company’s offices last October.
Images and videos shared on social media show a gathering of people with IWGB union banners and homemade placards – flaunting slogans such as “what’s disgusting; union busting” and “404: Rockstar’s respect for workers not found” – outside the Glasgow Tribunals Centre, where the hearing is taking place.
But the centrepiece of the morning’s activity was a rousing speech on the nature of fear by fired Rockstar employee Rachel Crawford. “The modern workplace runs on fear: fear of speaking out, fear of being punished, fear of being fired, losing your livelihood and even your home,” Crawford said, in a video recorded by IWGB Game Workers union co-founder Austin Kelmore.
“On October 30th 2025 I was fired by Rockstar Games. I was fired without warning and without even being given a clear answer about what it was I’d done to deserve it. Within minutes, I was out the door, feeling humiliated and ashamed, and ever since I’ve replayed that day in my head wondering what I could or should have done differently.
“On that day, fear asserted its dominance. I felt its claws deep in my heart, urging me to run with my tail between my legs and never to look back. I saw it in my former colleagues, too afraid to talk to me or even, in some cases, to look at me. I heard it every time the ones who did speak to me told me how powerless they felt to do anything to stop or undo what had happened, even though they knew it was wrong.
Closing out the rally, @nershly.bsky.social beautifully speaks about her experience being fired by Rockstar and how they try to use fear.
[image or embed]
— Austin Kelmore (@austinkelmore.com) 10 September 2026 at 09:46
“Fear wants to rule us. It closes our minds, our hearts, and our horizons. It makes us small, sad and hopeless. But today, we are fighting fear. This long-awaited hearing is an opportunity to put fear in its place below us. Over the next five weeks we will face fear and show that we refuse to be silenced by it. In spite of fear, we will stand up proudly, speak out truth, and demand a better industry, a better world that we all deserve.
“And we’re not just fighting fear in the courtroom. Many of my former colleagues at Rockstar Games have taken up the union’s flag and are now pushing for the recognition, protection, and power that fear has denied them for too long. Fear will not defeat them and it will not defeat us. Union makes us strong. Thank you.”
Rockstar Games now has to answer allegations of unlawful dismissal and blacklisting after trying to get the case thrown out earlier this year. The IWGB union, which is representing the fired employees, claims Rockstar removed the 31 staff because they were members of that very same union, though Rockstar claims it fired them for “gross misconduct” and sharing confidential information on the IWGB Discord server.
It’s become a high profile issue in the UK, so much so it was debated in Parliament and discussed by then Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called the matter “deeply concerning”. A Rockstar Game Workers union has also sprung up in response to last year’s firings and has levelled yet more allegations against the company, around crunch and gender pay gaps, and weaponising bonus payments.
The final hearing should take around five weeks to run its course, meaning it runs close to GTA 6’s 19th November release, and the IWGB seeks – on the fired employees’ behalf – either their reinstatement or compensation for them, “as well as a finding from the tribunal that their dismissals were unfair”. Should a tribunal rule in favour of the fired employees, it could be a historic step towards official union representation at Rockstar, and perhaps lead to union recognition such as we saw signed by Blizzard overnight.
