Ex-employee denies claims staff ‘disparaged and defamed’ GTA VI developer

Ex-employees are “very much denying” claims they “disparaged and defamed” GTA VI developer Rockstar, one of those involved in an employment tribunal has said.

A group of former employees began an employment tribunal in Glasgow on Thursday, claiming they were unfairly dismissed for trade union activities while working on the upcoming video game Grand Theft Auto VI.

They are being represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB).

Rockstar has denied the allegation and accused the ex-employees of breaching the company’s confidentiality rules by discussing sensitive information on a Discord server.

In an opening argument, the company said the claimants had been “vituperatively disparaging and defaming” Rockstar.

Jack Hoxby, 29, said he and the other claimants are “very much denying” Rockstar’s argument.

“We’ve basically been alleging it was union busting since (we were dismissed),” Mr Hoxby told the Press Association.

“They’re alleging that we were either disparaging the company or talking about confidential information in a Discord that was accessible to the public, which we’re obviously very much denying.”

Mr Hoxby worked in quality assurance at Rockstar North until October 30,2025 when he and 33 of his colleagues in the UK and Canada were fired for “gross misconduct”.

Mr Hoxby said the Discord channel referenced by Rockstar was “intended for union organising”.

“It was full of union members and some union staff, and essentially we’re fighting for our right to digitally organise,” he said.

“In this day and age, especially when there’s international companies and people working remotely, it is very important that workers have the ability to organise digitally because we can’t have those in-person meetings with our colleagues.”

Mr Hoxby continued: “So, we’re staunch in our position that it was a union space, that no information was leaked, and that’s what we’ll be fighting on.”

Following the start of the tribunal on Thursday morning, Mr Hoxby said he has “a lot of confidence” in the union’s legal team.

“I feel like they’ve done very well today, but it’s very hard to know how things are going to go,” he said.

“I obviously think the strength of our case speaks for itself. So I’m still hopeful. Obviously, it is very nerve-wracking being in the room and everything, but I’m still feeling positive about everything.”