Rockstar Hit With "Silence and Closed Doors" Accusation From Edinburgh MPs Over GTA 6 Studio Firings

Rockstar is back in the firing line, and this time the pressure is coming from inside Parliament.

Three Edinburgh MPs have publicly criticised the GTA 6 developer over how the studio handled last October's mass firings, accusing Rockstar of dodging proper engagement with affected workers, their representatives, and trade unions. The wider political pressure on the studio has been building for months now, with an ongoing ministerial investigation opened by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer back in December still trying to get to the bottom of what happened.

Quick refresher on the situation, because there's a lot of it. Rockstar sacked 34 employees across the UK and Canada in late October 2025, with 31 of those dismissals at Rockstar North in Edinburgh and three more at Rockstar Toronto. The IWGB Game Workers' Union says the firings were straight-up union-busting against staff who'd been using a private Discord server to organise. Rockstar's version of events is different. The studio insists the workers were dismissed for gross misconduct after sharing confidential information on the same Discord, in breach of company policy.

Speaking through a statement shared by the IWGB, Chris Murray, MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, did not mince his words.

"From my first meeting with constituents impacted by Rockstar's mass dismissal, I have held concerns with both the handling and motivation behind this action," Murray said. "I made my concerns clear during Prime Minister's Questions, resulting in an ongoing ministerial investigation initiated by the Prime Minister."

He went further on the human cost. "Constituents have lost their jobs, their income, with one constituent even forced to leave the country due to the removal of their visa sponsor. During a recent meeting with a constituent they explained Rockstar's justification for their dismissal has varied throughout this process. Rockstar must answer this case with transparency and full cooperation and uphold the right to appeal."

Tracy Gilbert, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, was equally pointed. She described Rockstar's behaviour throughout as "extremely disappointing", adding the studio "has refused to properly engage with staff, representatives and trade unions throughout this process. Workers asking for fairness, transparency and respect should not be met with silence and closed doors, especially when livelihoods and workplace rights are at stake."

Dr Scott Arthur, MP for Edinburgh South West, joined fellow MPs on a visit to Rockstar's Edinburgh office late last year and says he raised these issues directly with senior management at the time.

"When I visited Rockstar late last year alongside fellow MPs, my discussions with senior management emphasised their responsibility to treat staff in an open, fair, and transparent manner," Arthur said. "It appears that these principles are not being consistently upheld in practice. The UK Government is overseeing the largest expansion of workers' rights in a generation, and as Members of Parliament we have a duty to challenge unfair employment practices and unjust dismissals. Rockstar must therefore cooperate fully and transparently with any investigations into alleged union-busting and ensure that both dismissed and current employees are treated fairly and with respect."

The Prime Minister himself previously told Parliament the situation was "a deeply concerning case" and pledged further ministerial scrutiny.

What Actually Happened on the Discord?

This bit is where things get a little messy. A detailed investigation by People Make Games earlier this year laid out the chat logs in question, suggesting the relevant discussion was about an internal Slack policy change, not leaked game features. Rockstar had told staff to cut down on off-topic chatter in Slack, and the fired workers reportedly discussed that internal memo in their organising Discord. Sharing an internal communication with non-employees is what Rockstar appears to be hanging its gross misconduct case on.

Rockstar itself insists the dismissals were down to staff leaking features from upcoming and unannounced titles in the Discord, though the company has never specified which features, or which titles. As IGN previously reported, the studio has been firm on the leak narrative since day one.

Where the Legal Fight Stands

The legal side has so far tilted in Rockstar's favour, at least at the interim stage. Back in January, an employment tribunal in Glasgow refused to grant interim relief to the dismissed workers, which would have put them back on Rockstar's payroll and reinstated their work visas where needed. Judge Frances Eccles pointed to the fact that the three Canadian workers were not IWGB members as evidence union activity was unlikely to be the reason behind the firings.

A full tribunal hearing where both sides will present evidence is still to come. The IWGB has now publicly accused Rockstar of "obstructing legal processes" by failing to cooperate with basic disclosure requests and refusing to provide full investigation reports.

IWGB president Alex Marshall has not held back either. "They have acted as if they have impunity, showing no respect for UK employment law," Marshall said in a recent statement. "Our multiple requests for cooperation, whether proposing in-person meetings or asking for the full evidence behind the dismissals, have been met with radio silence. When Rockstar does respond, it's with a shifting narrative."

Take-Two's Position

Asked about the row, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has doubled down on defending Rockstar's culture, saying the publisher is "incredibly proud of our labor relations". For a company sitting on what is shaping up to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time, this is the kind of headline you really don't want hanging around in the months before release.

GTA 6 is currently due on November 19, 2026 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with Rockstar's full marketing push expected to kick off this summer. Whether the political and legal pressure escalates further before launch, well, that depends largely on whether Rockstar starts engaging with the people knocking on its door. Right now, the silence is doing the company no favours.