Keir Starmer calls Rockstar firings a 'deeply concerning case' after MP's question

Rockstar Games' dismissal of more than 30 UK staff came up in the House of Commons on December 10, 2025. Answering a question at Prime Minister's Questions, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it "a deeply concerning case" and said ministers would look into it, Kotaku and Push Square reported. It was a government comment, not a legal finding.

The question and the answer

Chris Murray, the MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, where Rockstar has its Edinburgh studio, raised the case. He told the Commons that Rockstar had dismissed 31 employees "without providing evidence or union representation," and that a meeting with the company had not reassured him it was following employment law.

In reply, Starmer said union membership is a right for all workers. He added that ministers would examine this case and report back to Murray.

Murray also gave IGN more detail, in a statement Push Square quoted. He said MPs were told to sign an NDA before they could go in, a demand Rockstar eventually dropped once they made clear they would not sign, and that he left without learning "exactly what these 31 people had done."

Both sides

The IWGB, the union backing the dismissed staff, calls the firings union busting and has brought an unfair dismissal case. Rockstar denies that. It has said the staff were let go for "distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum," and that union involvement played no part. Neither report carried a Rockstar response to the exchange in Parliament.

What it means for players

The game itself was not discussed. At the time, GTA VI was due on November 19, 2026, Push Square noted. The dispute started with the October 2025 dismissals and later moved to an interim ruling and a full tribunal hearing.