Rockstar Games Fired Staff for Leaking Internal Messages on Discord
▼ Summary
– Rockstar Games fired 34 employees for “gross misconduct” after internal company messages were shared and discussed on a private Discord server used by staff and union workers.
– The UK trade union IWGB has launched a legal claim alleging unfair dismissal and union-busting, while over 200 Rockstar employees signed a letter condemning the firings.
– The Discord server contained discussions about salaries, bonuses, and HR issues—topics protected under the Equality Act—but no confidential game information was shared.
– The catalyst for the dismissals was the sharing of internal Slack policy changes in the Discord server, which restricted non-work channels and emoji usage for causes like industry layoffs or Palestine.
– An internal investigation followed after a server member reportedly informed management, leading to the firings by the end of October, with the incident also being discussed in UK Parliament.
A recent report indicates that Rockstar Games terminated the employment of 34 staff members last month, citing “gross misconduct” as the official reason. The dismissals are now at the center of a significant controversy, with allegations that the company is engaging in union-busting activities. According to the UK trade union Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), the firings were unjust, leading to a formal legal claim for unfair dismissal.
An investigation by People Make Games has brought to light internal messages from a private Discord server, which a source close to the matter believes triggered the terminations. This server, established in 2022, operated on an invite-only basis and was accessible exclusively to Rockstar employees and IWGB representatives. It featured a general channel open to all members, alongside other channels reserved for paying union members.
Discussions within the server predominantly revolved around salaries, bonuses, and various human resources concerns, topics that fall under protections granted by the Equality Act of 2010. Despite Rockstar’s history of guarding against major leaks, the Discord conversations reportedly contained no confidential information related to the company’s games.
Instead, the controversy appears to stem from employees sharing and discussing updates to Rockstar’s internal Slack policies. Because staff cannot access work emails outside the office, at least one email detailing these policy changes was circulated and debated on the Discord platform after hours. Quotes and specifics from the internal communications were exchanged among members.
A source from People Make Games suggests that management was alerted to these discussions, prompting an internal investigation. The timing aligns closely: Slack policy revisions were introduced in mid-October, and by the month’s end, 34 individuals had been dismissed.
These policy adjustments, referred to internally as the “Slack purge,” involved removing numerous non-work-related chat channels that management viewed as distractions. Among the affected spaces was a channel where employees shared news about widespread industry layoffs, often reacting with a seedling emoji to express solidarity. The new rules also restricted the use of emojis like the seedling or the Palestinian flag in statuses, which staff had employed to show support for social causes.
Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB, commented that Rockstar seems determined to limit employee communication. He emphasized that workers were merely discussing pay and working conditions, a lawful activity, with the goal of improving their situation and, by extension, the quality of the games they produce. Marshall also clarified that the union’s involvement in the Discord server is legally appropriate, as supporting members is a standard function of union representation.
Rockstar Games has declined to comment on the findings of the investigation. In response to the firings, more than 200 Rockstar employees have signed a letter to company leadership condemning the action. The issue has even been raised in the UK Parliament, highlighting the broader implications for workers’ rights and union activity in the tech and gaming sectors.
(Source: Eurogamer)
