Several former quality assurance testers who worked on Grand Theft Auto VI have staged protests outside Rockstar North’s Edinburgh offices. The fired workers allege the company terminated them in retaliation for union organizing efforts.
The demonstrations took place at Rockstar’s Scottish headquarters. The protesters claim they were dismissed after management discovered private Discord conversations where staff discussed workplace conditions and potential unionization.
“I thought that by joining the union I could be putting a target on my back,” one fired worker told press at the protest. “No one should ever feel this way when organizing in their workplace.”
The most striking allegation involves a colleague fired while on paternity leave. “One of our friends in particular had plans that didn’t involve being unceremoniously fired while on paternity leave, just 9 days after the birth of her second child,” a protester stated.
Former testers describe brutal working conditions during GTA 6 development. Multiple workers report 75 to 85 hour weeks lasting for months. Some claim they worked six or seven days per week with minimal time off.
One former Rockstar QA tester who worked on GTA IV described the lasting damage. “85 hour weeks for six months, and 75ish for another six before that,” they said. “Burnt a hole in myself that it took years to recover from. It made me angry, stressed out and have really weird dreams.”
The tester added that Rockstar let go most of the QA department once GTA IV shipped. They had zero chance of permanent employment despite the extreme overtime.
Another account describes a developer who worked on a Rockstar Max Payne title. According to the story, management switched game engines roughly a year before launch but refused to delay release. The team was expected to work 80 to 100 hour weeks for an entire year.
The developer slept in the office and went home only for laundry. They saw friends and family maybe once a month. Two weeks before launch, Rockstar reportedly laid off 95 percent of the team. This made them ineligible for promised profit-sharing bonuses since only current employees qualified. The developer left game development entirely.
Rockstar North has long been described by Scottish game workers as a notorious burnout factory. Multiple sources characterize the studio as a place where QA staff end up in a “seriously dark place” and need long recovery periods after leaving.
The allegations follow a familiar pattern at Rockstar. The studio faced similar criticism during development of Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018. After that controversy, management publicly promised reforms to reduce crunch. Former workers say those promises didn’t last.
“After every big game they said ‘we can’t do that again, we need to change,'” one ex-tester explained. But the cycle repeated. Brief periods of relaxed schedules gave way to renewed pressure once new deadlines approached.
Protesters point to a stark contrast between Rockstar’s financial success and worker treatment. GTA V has generated an estimated 9 to 10 billion dollars in lifetime revenue. The franchise remains one of the most profitable entertainment properties ever created.
Critics also note that Rockstar receives substantial UK tax breaks through Video Games Tax Relief. The program is designed to promote British cultural values including democracy, rule of law, respect, tolerance, and individual liberty. Former workers question why a studio with such a history of alleged exploitation should benefit from public subsidies.
The timing of the protests is deliberate. GTA 6 is one of the most anticipated games in years. Industry analysts expect it to break sales records and generate over a billion dollars within days of launch. Workers fear that as the release date approaches, crunch and pressure will intensify just as it did on previous Rockstar titles.
Some defenders argue that if workers breached NDAs or shared confidential information, Rockstar had justification for termination regardless of union activity. The company has not publicly detailed the specific reasons for each firing.
The fired workers maintain that NDA violations are simply a pretext for union busting. Whether the dismissals were lawful will likely need to be tested at UK employment tribunals.
When blockbusters cost more than money
“I want people to think of the human cost,” one former developer said at the protest. “The people burnt out, the careers ended, the lives in disarray.”
QA testers are typically the lowest-paid workers on major game projects. They’re often hired on temporary contracts and expected to work the heaviest overtime during final development months. Many are laid off immediately after a game ships.
