Rockstar Games workers set for ‘historic’ union vote to coincide with Grand Theft Auto 6 release

Recognition of the IWGB union at Rockstar North in Edinburgh will be put to a vote from November 12th to the 26th, overlapping with the much anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) on November 19th.

The terms of the recognition deal have been under negotiation between the IWGB and Rockstar management since July, but unionisation efforts have been underway for much longer. The agreement would give workers a say over pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working arrangements, and generative AI policies, the IWGB said.

The vote will also overlap with the closing submissions of an ongoing employment tribunal about dismissed Rockstar workers, which is set for November 17-18. The IWGB has alleged the workers were unlawfully fired. More than 30 IWGB members were made redundant in October 2025, with the union saying Rockstar fired them for trying to form a union.

IWGB said the Rockstar case for unionisation is an especially important one, because the profile of Rockstar North – the developer of GTA, the biggest name in the gaming world – could lead to a more widespread unionisation push across gaming.

Rockstar North production co-ordinator and Rockstar Game Workers Union Committee Member Shanti Easton-Steel commented:

This November, we have the chance to make gaming history not once but twice. As all our hard work, skill and creativity are experienced by GTA 6 players for the first time, our voices will now be heard for the first time too.

For me, this vote comes down to ensuring employees at Rockstar get honesty and openness surrounding the decisions that affect them. When management choices are kept hidden, we can’t properly address issues like the gender pay gap, the uneven and ever-changing policies on overtime pay, or the concerns many co-workers hold around job security post-release.

This is our moment to secure a window onto the decisions that shape our lives, and a seat at the table to improve them. I’m immensely proud of the games Rockstar gives its fans — I want to be equally proud of the voice Rockstar gives its staff.

Alex Marshall, President of the IWGB Union, called the vote “just as historic as the game release …”

But for workers at Rockstar, it is so much more personal: it is fundamentally a choice about whether you get to have a say in how your day-to-day life is organised,” he continued.

From pay and pensions to parental leave and overtime, this agreement is a real chance to be involved in decision-making at Rockstar by becoming part of a democratic and member-led union.

Rockstar’s Head of Publishing Jennifer Kolbe told Bloomberg: “we go where the team goes. So if they want a union, they will have a union.”