Rockstar's UK staff will vote on a union from November 12 to 26, right across GTA VI's launch

A union vote in launch month. Rockstar Games’ UK employees will vote on whether to recognize the IWGB Rockstar Game Workers Union from November 12 to 26, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain announced on October 27, The Verge reports. That window runs straight across GTA VI’s console launch on November 19. If the vote passes, it would be the biggest recognized union in the UK games industry.

What’s on the table. The union and Rockstar management have been negotiating a recognition deal since July, and staff will vote on it anonymously online. The IWGB says the deal would give workers a say over pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working and generative AI policies, Inven Global reports, and the union’s own post also mentions pensions and parental leave.

In the union’s words. “This November, we have the chance to make gaming history not once but twice,” committee member Shanti Easton-Steel said. She pointed to the gender pay gap, “the uneven and ever-changing policies on overtime pay,” and worries about job security after release, according to Game Developer.

The backstory. Rockstar fired 31 UK staff in October 2025, saying they leaked GTA 6 information in a Discord. The IWGB calls it union busting, and the case is before an employment tribunal in Scotland with closing arguments on November 17 and 18. Rockstar hasn’t commented on the vote, but head of publishing Jennifer Kolbe recently told Bloomberg, “If they want a union, they will have a union,” PC Gamer notes.

PPR take: Nothing here touches the GTA VI release date. The real test comes after launch, when big studios often cut staff, and that’s exactly the moment this union wants a seat at the table.