Rockstar employees in the UK have requested voluntary union recognition from the developer to address pay transparency, flexible working, and overtime.
The Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU), part of the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB), aims to secure collective bargaining rights amid ongoing legal disputes over alleged unfair dismissals. Members of the IWGB have been organizing at Rockstar since 2019, representing a significant portion of the workforce across each of the studio's sites in Edinburgh, Dundee, Lincoln, Leeds, and London. As the RGWU has grown, the IWGB stated that Rockstar has already made improvements to workers' conditions, including unprecedented average pay rises and financial incentives for crunch for the first time ever.
If formally recognized, the RGWU would make Rockstar the second UK developer with a recognized union, following ZA/UM in October 2025. The request for recognition comes amidst an ongoing legal dispute between the IWGB and Rockstar over the dismissal of 34 employees in the UK and Canada last year. The IWGB has accused Rockstar of union busting, while Rockstar attributed the dismissals to staff allegedly leaking confidential information in a public forum.
An employment tribunal hearing is scheduled for September 2026 to decide whether workers were unlawfully fired for trade union activity. IWGB Union president Alex Marshall emphasized that applying for union recognition is a crucial step in strengthening their presence in the workplace. The move has been supported by Rockstar North production co-ordinator Shanti Easton-Steel, who sees it as a landmark moment for the Rockstar Game Workers Union and the industry as a whole.
