Rockstar Tribunal Reveals New GTA 6 Development and Security Details

Day 1 of Rockstar's employment tribunal has revealed details about GTA 6's development and security, including claims workers discussed the game's status and features on Discord, as both sides dispute why dozens of employees were fired.

The final hearing began at the Glasgow Employment Tribunal on September 10, with former Rockstar employees alleging they were unlawfully dismissed because of their involvement with the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB).

Rockstar strongly denies those claims, maintaining that the employees were dismissed for gross misconduct after confidential company information was shared outside the company.

While much of the dispute centres on employment law and union activity, the opening day provided several interesting new details concerning GTA 6's development, Rockstar's security measures and the extreme secrecy surrounding the game.

Rockstar says GTA 6 development information was discussed

According to Rockstar's opening legal arguments, the company gained access in October 2025 to a Discord channel referred to during proceedings as "Room C".

Rockstar claims the server contained more than 300 people, including current and former employees, people working for competitors and at least one journalist.

The company alleges that employees were sharing a large amount of internal information within the group, some of which related directly to GTA 6.

One of the most notable claims is that discussions included information about the game's features as well as details that could potentially indicate the current state of development.

"Many, many pieces of information" referred to the state of GTA VI's development.

Rockstar argued that this information could, either directly or indirectly, reveal whether GTA 6 was on schedule or falling behind its publicly announced release plans.

This is particularly significant given the intense attention surrounding GTA 6's release date throughout development. The game is currently scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

It is important to stress that Rockstar's submission does not state that GTA 6 was actually behind schedule at the time. Its argument is that internal discussions could have allowed outsiders to determine the state of development and draw conclusions about whether the project was on track.

Game features described as closely guarded secrets

Rockstar's legal submission also alleged that workers in the Discord were openly discussing game features.

"One of the most closely guarded secrets of the company."

Previous proceedings connected with the case had already exposed discussion surrounding subjects including an apparent 32-player online format, testing requirements and other internal development matters.

Day one of the final hearing therefore appears to reinforce just how sensitive Rockstar considers even relatively small pieces of information concerning unreleased GTA 6 systems.

Rockstar said GTA 6's enormous value and profile partly explains what it characterised as its "extreme protectiveness" surrounding information about the project.

Rockstar says it faces regular attempts to obtain GTA 6 information

The tribunal was also given a remarkable insight into the level of security surrounding Rockstar and its games.

According to the company's opening submissions, Rockstar is regularly subjected to attempted attacks against its systems and is therefore particularly cautious about where confidential information is discussed.

The company told the tribunal that a hacking group had attempted to blackmail Rockstar within the previous few weeks.

"A hacking group attempted to blackmail" Rockstar.

No further details about that alleged blackmail attempt were disclosed during the reporting from the first day.

Rockstar also said attempts to obtain information have not been limited to cyberattacks.

According to the company's submission, drones have previously been used in attempts to photograph the inside of Rockstar offices through windows. Rockstar reportedly responded by installing privacy film on some of its buildings.

The disclosure provides some additional context for the unusually strict security surrounding GTA 6, particularly following several major leaks during the game's development.

Rockstar says Discord created a major security risk

A central part of Rockstar's case concerns the use of Discord itself.

The company argued that Discord has considerably fewer security protections than Rockstar's internal communication systems and said use of the service was blocked on company IT systems.

Rockstar claims employees knew about the potential risks of discussing company matters on the platform.

According to the company's account, Rockstar became aware of the server after people already inside the group raised concerns about its contents.

Rockstar says that when it gained access to Room C, more than 300 people were able to view discussions involving company information.

The group included "disgruntled ex-employees, competitors and a journalist".

The company argued that the possibility of screenshots or messages being forwarded outside the server created both a commercial and reputational risk.

Rockstar also told the tribunal that discussions inside the server included strongly critical comments about managers, Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive.

Some posts reportedly criticised management, company structure, budgets and investor confidence, while others used profanity when referring to individual managers and company decisions.

Rockstar argues that if such messages had become public alongside confidential development information, they could have generated damaging publicity and potentially affected confidence in Take-Two.

Workers say the Discord was for union organising

The former employees strongly dispute Rockstar's interpretation of events.

The claimants argue that the Discord server was primarily being used by workers involved with organising through the IWGB and that their dismissals were connected to increasing union activity inside Rockstar.

According to the claimants' opening submission, approximately 340 people were participating in the Rockstar Game Workers Union Discord server when the dismissals occurred.

They allege that Rockstar dismissed 34 people on October 30, 2025 without first allowing them to respond to the allegations through the company's normal disciplinary process.

The claimants also allege that an individual inside the union Discord had been passing information from the server to Rockstar management for more than a year.

The workers describe this person as a "mole".

Union membership had reached a significant threshold

Another central argument from the workers concerns the growth of the union shortly before the dismissals.

The claimants say IWGB membership at Rockstar had reached around 10% of the workforce, an important threshold in the process of potentially seeking formal collective bargaining recognition.

Their lawyers argue that the dismissals therefore came at a time when the union was becoming capable of exercising significantly greater influence within the company.

Workers allege Rockstar "struck at the union because it had become capable of exercising collective power."

Rockstar rejects this explanation and says union membership or activity was not the reason the employees were dismissed.

The company maintains that the dismissals were the result of confidential information being shared outside approved internal systems.

Employees dispute the severity of the Discord messages

The claimants also challenged Rockstar's characterisation of some of the Discord conversations as serious misconduct.

Their legal submissions say a number of the examples identified by Rockstar concerned comparatively minor workplace issues.

Examples reportedly included employees discussing the staff canteen running out of vegan sausages, burned coffee, a shortage of Wispa chocolate bars and workers checking Rockstar's social media policy.

The claimants also argue that swearing and informal language were commonplace both among employees and management and should not, by themselves, have been treated as grounds for dismissal.

Rockstar's position is that these discussions need to be considered alongside the wider contents of the server, including allegedly confidential development information and comments about the company and its management.

34 workers were dismissed, with 23 involved in the tribunal

The hearing also helps clarify some of the numbers surrounding the dispute.

Reporting from the opening day states that 34 Rockstar employees across the UK and Canada were dismissed in October 2025.

A group of 23 former employees are currently participating in the Glasgow employment tribunal.

Earlier reporting and union material has frequently referred to 31 UK workers, reflecting the number of UK-based employees affected by the wider dispute.

The tribunal will determine whether those involved in the current proceedings were dismissed for legitimate misconduct reasons, as Rockstar argues, or whether their treatment was unlawfully connected to trade union activity, as alleged by the workers.

Former Rockstar workers rally outside tribunal

Before proceedings began, former employees and supporters gathered outside Glasgow Tribunals Centre for a rally organised by the IWGB.

Former Rockstar programmer Rachel Crawford, who previously worked on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, spoke publicly about being dismissed from the company.

"The modern workplace runs on fear."

Crawford said workers could fear speaking out, being punished or losing their jobs, and described the tribunal as an opportunity for the former employees to challenge that fear.

IWGB president Alex Marshall also criticised Rockstar's handling of the dispute, joking that the company had attempted to get away with "Grand Theft Employment Rights."

The union says the former workers are seeking a finding that their dismissals were unfair, alongside possible reinstatement or compensation.

Rockstar continues to deny union-busting allegations

Rockstar has consistently denied that the employees were dismissed because of union membership or organising.

In its response to the proceedings, the company said the employees across the UK and Canada were dismissed for gross misconduct relating to confidential company information.

Rockstar says it will defend the claims throughout the tribunal.

The workers and IWGB dispute that explanation and maintain that they were targeted because of their trade union activities.

No final findings have yet been made by the tribunal, meaning claims made by either Rockstar or the former employees should currently be treated as allegations and arguments being presented as part of the case.

Tribunal continues until October

The final hearing is expected to continue for approximately five weeks, running until October 16.

That would bring proceedings to a close just over a month before GTA 6 launches worldwide on November 19.

With testimony and evidence still to be examined, further details about Rockstar's internal processes, the development of GTA 6 and the circumstances surrounding the dismissals could potentially emerge as the tribunal continues.

Day one has already provided a rare glimpse into just how seriously Rockstar treats information surrounding GTA 6 - including claims of attempted hacking, blackmail, drone surveillance and concerns that seemingly small internal discussions could reveal whether development of the most anticipated game in the world was running according to schedule.

Sources

• The Independent / PA Media – GTA VI creator sacked employees after finding 'disparaging' chat room – tribunal
• The Independent / PA Media – Ex-employees begin unfair dismissal tribunal against GTA VI developer Rockstar
• The Independent / PA Media – Ex-employee denies claims staff 'disparaged and defamed' GTA VI developer
• The Times – Sacked GTA VI developers take Rockstar to employment tribunal
• PC Gamer – Fired Grand Theft Auto 6 developer speaks at pre-trial rally
• The Scottish Sun – Rockstar workers rally outside Glasgow tribunal