Developers at Rockstar Games have announced the formation of a new union, the Rockstar IWGB Game Workers Union, organized through the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain.
The launch lands as the studio pushes deep into development on Grand Theft Auto VI, arguably the most anticipated game release of the decade.
In their announcement, the workers laid out three core demands: pay transparency, flexible working, and an end to crunch.
The three demands directly target some of the loudest criticisms aimed at Rockstar over the years.
Crunch has shadowed the studio since the Red Dead Redemption 2 era, when co-founder Dan Houser admitted parts of the writing team worked 100-hour weeks. Rockstar later said it had cleaned up its production culture, but workers clearly disagree that the job’s done.
The flexible working push connects to Rockstar’s 2024 return-to-office mandate, which required staff to be in five days a week. Management cited productivity and security concerns following the major GTA 6 leak. Workers and labor advocates pushed back, pointing to caregivers, disabled staff, and commuting burdens.
Pay transparency rounds out the list, a common ask across game industry organizing where salary bands and promotion criteria are often opaque.
The bigger picture
A union tied to GTA 6 developers is a heavyweight moment for game industry labor. Rockstar sits at the top of the AAA food chain, and Grand Theft Auto V alone has sold over 200 million copies and printed money through GTA Online.
It follows a wave of organizing at Raven Software, ZeniMax, and Sega of America, all under the CWA umbrella in the US. The IWGB has been the main vehicle for game worker organizing in the UK, building on the earlier Game Workers Unite movement.
Rockstar’s reliance on its proprietary RAGE engine gives senior staff serious leverage. Years of institutional knowledge with custom tools and pipelines aren’t easy to replace mid-production.
