Rockstar Games and Take-Two vs. the Union: Why Employees Were Fired

The saga of the conflict between Rockstar Games and the union continues (parts one, two, and three). True to their promise, on November 17th protesters convened on a rainy Monday evening outside Rockstar North’s headquarters in Edinburgh. As they gathered beneath the evocative score from the first trailer (listen here), they chanted slogans before marching to the adjacent Scottish Parliament building.

Just one week later, on November 24th, a detailed report emerged disclosing the dismissal of 34 employees. In the previous month, the company amended its Slack policy to ban discussions about pets, music, and other non-work topics — even prohibiting emojis, notably the 🙌 symbol that has become synonymous with the union movement amid widespread industry layoffs.