Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games have a lot of work to do. GTA 6 was delayed yesterday, and the news broke alongside Take-Two’s quarterly earnings announcement. Just last week, Rockstar fired 30 to 40 employees, later claiming they were “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum” against company policy. But the fired workers say they were involved in a Discord chat about unions and that their firing was “blatant” and “ruthless” union-busting.
In the face of all this, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick defends the company’s culture and history, saying Take-Two is “extremely proud” of its labor relations.
Speaking to IGN yesterday before the results were announced, Zelnick pointed me to existing public statements from Take-Two and Rockstar when I asked if he had any response to the union busting allegations, and reiterated that “we fully support Rockstar.”
So I asked Zelnick what Take-Two’s stance on unions in general is? Zelnick did not answer this specific question. But here’s what he said:
“This is our position. We greatly value each and every one of our colleagues. We have 13,500 employees worldwide. We are very proud of our culture. Over the last few years, we have been recognized as an Employer of Preferred over 15 times… this year we were certified as a Great Place to Work in the US and UK, Forbes recently named us one of the best employers in the world, and on top of that… our attrition rate is half or less than the industry average. To be specific, our global attrition rate is just over 6%, in the UK it’s less than 4% The industry average is over 12% and Rockstar is even lower than our average.
“You know, the proof is in the pudding, the food is good and I think our culture is extraordinary. We strive to be the most imaginative, most pioneering and most effective company in the industry. That’s the way we look at it. We’re incredibly proud of our working relationships.”
Zelnick’s response came amid ongoing confusion over the layoffs, with affected employees and supporters picketing outside Rockstar and Take-Two’s UK offices yesterday. According to the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), the only non-Rockstar people on Discord’s private union were union organizers. IWGB chief Alex Marshall issued the following statement to IGN:
“Rockstar continues to distract from the real reason for these layoffs: they are afraid that hard-working employees will privately discuss exercising their rights to ensure a fairer workplace and a collective voice. Management is showing that they don’t care about GTA 6 delays and that they are prioritizing union busting by attacking the very people who make the game.”
“In recent years, Rockstar executives have benefited from a £443 million tax break while showing complete disregard for the law and the livelihoods of their employees. At every turn, they have put profits ahead of employees and fans of their games. The only non-Rockstar union employees on Discord were union organizers.”
Rockstar maintains that the firings were due to “gross misconduct and no other reason.”
This is not the first case of employee unrest in the company. Last year the studio asked employees to come to the office five days a weekciting the desire to increase productivity and safety after: massive leak of GTA 6 in development in 2022 i the day before, the premiere of trailer 1 of GTA 6 next year. The decision was made criticized by employees associated with IWGBwho stated that Rockstar had broken promises by forcing a return to the office, and accused the studio of refusing to communicate with employees about the matter.
GTA 6 is currently scheduled for release on November 19, 2026.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Her posts can be found on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Have a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
