Rockstar staff will vote on union recognition amid the launch of GTA 6.

Recognition of the IWGB Union at Rockstar will be put to an employee vote from November 12-26, which just so happens to coincide with the release of GTA 6 itself, on November 19.

The terms of the recognition deal were agreed following months of negotiations that took place even as the IWGB and Rockstar clashed over the firing of 31 workers for allegedly leaking company secrets in October last year. The IWGB has alleged the workers were unlawfully fired, and have accused Rockstar Games of union busting. The vote will overlap with the closing submissions of the ongoing employment tribunal, which are set for November 17-18.

The deal would give workers a say over topics including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working arrangements, and generative AI policies, the IWGB said. Developer Rockstar North, which is part of GTA publisher Rockstar Games, is in Edinburgh, Scotland. If the IWGB Rockstar Game Workers Union wins the vote, it will become the biggest recognised union in the UK games industry, and, officials said, could boost unionisation efforts across the rest of the industry.

Throughout the process, Rockstar has indicated its willingness to work with staff on union recognition. Rockstar Head of Publishing Jennifer Kolbe recently told Bloomberg: “We go where the team goes. So if they want a union, they will have a union.”

Rockstar North production co-ordinator and Rockstar Game Workers Union Committee Member Shanti Easton-Steel commented: “This November, we have the chance to make gaming history not once but twice.

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