Rockstar Games’ UK studios are about to hold a union recognition vote, running from November 12 to 26, 2026. Grand Theft Auto VI is due out on November 19, right in the middle of that window. The ballot will determine whether the Rockstar Games Workers Union, which is affiliated with the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and supported by SAG-AFTRA, secures bargaining rights over pay, bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working, and job security.
According to the Rockstar Games Workers Union, a win would make it the largest recognized union in the UK games industry.
The vote is landing at the same time as an employment tribunal tied to Rockstar Games’ October 2025 dismissal of more than 30 employees. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain says many of those workers were organizers and describes the dismissals as union busting. Rockstar Games, for its part, says the case was about confidential information. Plenty of people are watching what happens here, especially in the middle of a wider labor push that has already touched ZeniMax Online Studios, Blizzard, and Sega of America. In the US, 82% of developers support unionization, but only 12% are actually in unions.
If you keep up with labor issues in games, or you’re just paying close attention to Grand Theft Auto VI, this one deserves a look. That goes double after Rockstar Games publishing head Jennifer Kolbe reportedly said staff will have a union if they want one, even while Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have kept further comment to a minimum.
The result should come after voting closes on November 26.
The earlier vote story framed the launch as the backdrop to a union push; this update shows the calendar collision is now real, with the ballot running straight through release week. That makes the timing around Grand Theft Auto VI harder to treat as coincidence, especially with the employment tribunal still hanging over the same studios. The result will show whether the bargaining rights at stake in the launch window become a reality.
