The 34 former employees fired by Rockstar ask players to buy their T-shirts rather than boycott the game. The final hearing is expected in September.
Photo: Rockstar Games
Sources ign.com · jeuxvideo.com
Should you boycott GTA 6 to back the employees Rockstar fired? They are the ones answering, and their answer is no. According to IGN and JeuxVideo.com, relaying a video released by the British union IWGB, they are asking players to buy T-shirts whose profits will cover their legal costs.
"We don't want you to boycott it. We want you to help us fight for justice," says Jack Hoxby, an IWGB Game Workers branch member fired last year, quoted by IGN. He adds that players can then enjoy the game in November "knowing that you had the backs of the people who made it". The T-shirts are designed by the former employees, and all proceeds go to their legal fund, per JeuxVideo.com.
Thirty-four people were dismissed, 31 in the UK and 3 in Canada, IGN recalls. For the IWGB it was an attempt to smother a budding union. Rockstar and Take-Two deny it: per JeuxVideo.com, the studio cites repeated breaches of confidentiality, with GTA 6 details shared on a Discord server that included outsiders. IGN adds that Rockstar sees the information as sensitive, covering features, development progress and launch timelines, and points to its zero-tolerance leak policy. The positions clash, and the court will decide.
The legal calendar is tight. According to IGN, the final hearing is due to open in Glasgow in September, and JeuxVideo.com mentions a trial running until October 2026. In June, Rockstar developers had also applied for voluntary recognition of the IWGB Game Workers union, again per IGN.
Release is still November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, preload on November 12, PEGI 18, €79.99 standard and €99.99 Ultimate. No PC version has been announced. The dispute has not changed the game's schedule, and Take-Two has consistently said it does not fear an effect on sales.
The appeal shifts the debate: neither boycott nor silence, but targeted financial support. The case will be a benchmark for the whole industry, and we will follow its outcome in the journal.
Sources ign.com · jeuxvideo.com
By Solange Rocheval · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio