UK tribunal refuses interim relief to fired Rockstar workers

Former Rockstar Games staff who are challenging their dismissals will not receive interim pay while they wait for a full hearing. A UK employment judge rejected their request, as Bloomberg reported and Game Developer detailed a day later. The decision is preliminary and does not settle whether the firings were lawful.

What the judge decided

Employment Judge Frances Eccles had to find it likely that the claimants would prove their IWGB union membership was the main reason they lost their jobs. The judge wrote that the tribunal "was unable to conclude that it appears likely". The full hearing will apply a less demanding test.

The judge's remarks gave each side something. Eccles noted that the Discord server at the centre of the case had 350 members, some of whom had left Rockstar, and some of those dismissed were not IWGB members. But Eccles also said some claimants had posted very little, found "no evidence" that the posts harmed Rockstar, and noted that nobody was suspended or given a disciplinary hearing.

Both sides

Rockstar says the staff shared confidential information in a Discord channel that outsiders could see. A spokesperson told Bloomberg the studio stands by its decision "as supported by the outcome of this hearing."

The IWGB, which backs the claim and calls the dismissals union-busting, said the result was disappointing but that interim relief "is an incredibly high bar to meet". It still expects to win at trial.

Background

VGC reported in November 2025 that Rockstar had dismissed more than 30 staff in the UK and Canada; the studio says union activity played no part. The ruling comes from press reports, not from Rockstar or Take-Two. Both sides' accounts are in our dismissals post; the full hearing is covered separately.