22 union leaders sign letter demanding Rockstar recognise IWGB Game Workers

Twenty-two trade union leaders have signed an open letter addressed to Rockstar Games studio director Jennifer Kolbe and head of HR Rob Spampinato, calling on the GTA 6 developer to formally recognise the IWGB Game Workers union and begin collective bargaining.

The letter states that workers at Rockstar have already chosen the IWGB as their union and that the studio should respect that choice. It references the IWGB's track record in the games sector, including securing the first recognition agreement in the industry at ZA/UM. The 22 signatories come from a broad range of unions — among them Artists' Union England, the British Medical Association, the National Education Union, the Social Workers Union, and United Tech and Allied Workers (CWU) — collectively representing more than 1.3 million workers across different industries.

The letter lands against a difficult backdrop for Rockstar's labour relations. Three current UK-based Rockstar employees recently alleged that crunch is effectively written into their contracts, that the studio has overseen a widening gender pay gap, and that bonuses are used as a compliance tool. The IWGB is also supporting more than 30 workers who were fired by Rockstar in October, a move the union characterised as union busting. The IWGB was launched out of the Game Workers Unite international movement and has been pushing for formal recognition at Rockstar for some time.

Rockstar has not publicly responded to the letter. With GTA 6 still one of the most anticipated releases in the industry, pressure on the studio from organised labour — now backed by leaders representing over a million workers outside the games sector — is unlikely to ease.