Former Rockstar Games employee Dane Oram told the Glasgow Employment Tribunal that he believes the company had placed some employees on an internal "watch list." This list was allegedly linked to a petition opposing return-to-office mandates, while Rockstar denies that the dismissals were related to union activities.
Approximately 150 employees signed this petition in spring 2023, of whom only 15 to 20 were union members. Oram helped establish a Discord server used by around 300 Rockstar employees and believed the petition could become a starting point for the company to intensify monitoring of certain staff.
Oram was one of the 34 employees dismissed by Rockstar North in October 2025. The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain currently represents 23 of the 31 dismissed employees in Scotland in the relevant proceedings.
The dispute centers on chat logs from the Discord server. Rockstar had previously removed several non-work-related Slack channels it deemed distracting, sparking discontent within the unofficial Discord server. The company stated that an employee copied an internal email regarding the Slack changes into the server, after which a member contacted management, prompting the company to launch an investigation.
Some messages within the server also used insulting language to refer to a manager and made vulgar comments about management. During the hearing, Rockstar asked whether such behavior constituted gross misconduct. Oram admitted that the remarks were inappropriate but disagreed that they were severe enough to be considered gross misconduct, stating that administrators at the time were trying to strike a balance between maintaining order and avoiding excessive control.
A Rockstar spokesperson stated that the company's position on this matter has remained consistent: the individuals in the UK and Canada were dismissed for sharing confidential company information, constituting gross misconduct, not because of their union membership or union activities. The company denies the allegations and says it will vigorously defend itself.
The case is being presided over by Judge Lucy Wiseman, with the trial expected to last about six weeks. The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain hopes to secure formal recognition from Rockstar before the release of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19.