Rockstar management did not have direct access to the server prior to October 2025, but the former workers and their legal team allege that "from at least February 2024, [Rockstar HR director] Charlie Kinloch had been receiving information from a junior employee on trade union activity inside the Server". They claim that "over 21 months, at least 26 meetings or communications took place between Mr Kinloch and [the junior employee] concerning the Server, roughly half of them initiated by Mr Kinloch himself". Related

The "mole" is said to have "supplied screenshots and recordings, reported union meetings, training sessions and union membership numbers, and identified individual union activists". On 7th October 2025, they allegedly informed Kinlock that the union were 12 members away from the statutory threshold for recognition - 10% of the workforce. The union eventually reached this milestone on 18th October, with Kinloch learning of this on 20th October, the fired workers claim. At some point in this period, they go on, Rockstar management got hold of logins for the server, with Rockstar's vice president of information security Abid Ansari eventually signing in to download "the contents of the Announcements and General channels". Rockstar began firing members of the Discord at the end of the month.

Just classic union busting. Srsly. Don't fucking give Rockstar money now of all times. Sales number is the only language they speak. If you support unions, at least fucking wait on GTA 6. Wait until workers get rehired, unions enancted, Rockstar stops breaking employment laws.

If waiting too much of a bother, if you want the game too much, then go ahead and cross the picket line. Know it's full of fired workers with families to support, some losing their homes, some losing the country as work visas getting revoked/being deported, all becoming unhirable in the industry since their last reference is claiming misconduct. But if none of that is a problem, then go ahead and be a scab.

Rockstar is a disgusting company. I wish everyone would see them for the filth they are rather than blindly guzzling GTA VI hype. More than ever in their history, their game deserves to fail. But unfortunately, too many people will hold their nose and ensure it's a giant success.

For anyone who wants more coverage of this, the "people make games" channel on YouTube has been doing ongoing coverage where they discuss things with the worker and talk about what had been happening

Great channel

Really need to start teaching opsec in highschool and college.

Yea I mean, a Discord like that, assume it is compromised. It sucks. It really sucks. But yeah.

I’ll wait 100 years till it comes out on gamepass. People who don’t play games keep talking to me about GTA6 and I don’t know what to say because I don’t care. Rockstar can forever eat my asd for not making red dead 2 zombies or multiplayer cool.

Who was the mole?

His/her name should be well known in the industry so that no workers would ever trust that person in their friend group.

Rockstar claiming that the (vetted for employment) Discord could be infiltrated and become a source of leaks, and stating their own mole is evidence it could happen, would be hilarious if it wasn't so disgustingly disingenuous.

Rockstar were "largely in the dark" about events on the server, save for "occasional glimpses" care of their primary "whistleblower".
Rockstar fired a group of 34, mostly UK-based employees on a charge of "gross misconduct", alleging that they had risked the leaking of confidential information

…
If courts were fair&just, Rockstar just lost their counter case. Too bad UK courts still work under bribery.
Chris Kerr is the source of the report.

Like I said when this was posted a day or two ago, if Rockstar is going to treat its workers like shit and bust unions, they don't deserve $100 for GTA VI.

Now let's see if people stand with the workers or the union busting company treating workers like shit. At least then we'll have our answer as to why companies do what they do. But maybe people will surprise me this time.

People will buy GTA VI even if they discovered that Epstein himself developed the game.

I will not buy it though.

Fuck rockstar. Dont buy their games.

What's this? A large company treating its workers like crap, busting up unionization attempts? Say it isn't so. I was already lukewarm on anything GTA or from Rockstar but now I want nothing to do with them anymore.

Is not being a shitbag really so difficult?

One more reason I won’t be buying GTA6.

Pretty sure spying on unions is illegal, but Congress and the DoL are useless; and entirely captured by corporate interests.

Love how they're paying more attention to that shit than to what gamers want out of the next GTA.

I can't say I'm too surprised. It's not uncommon for rockstars to be cunts.

Me boycotting Rockstar and GTA VI because they’re yet another fucking monstrous sociopath corporation

Wasn't going to buy their shit anyway. Fuck em

My god, one's blood boils to think of the bootlicker that gave away the plot to HR. What class solidarity.

Jail.