Charlie Kinloch, HR Director at Rockstar Lincoln and Co-Head of Studio Operations, stated during a labor lawsuit hearing that employee discussions about working hours, overtime, and internal company operations could harm GTA 6 if made public before major commercial announcements for the title. On October 9, he was questioned regarding a source who allegedly provided him with screenshots from an employee Discord server. The lawsuit between Rockstar Games and the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain remains under trial.
The lawsuit involves more than 30 employees laid off from GTA 6 in October 2025, with dismissals taking place across multiple offices in the UK and Canada. Those affected were union members or were attempting to organize a union. The union subsequently filed a legal complaint, and both sides dispute the reasons for the layoffs as well as messages shared in employee group chats.
Kinloch stated that he was less interested in the specific discussions among employees about who joined the union, and more concerned with topics such as working hours, overtime, and internal company operations. He believed that if this information entered the public domain, it could allow outsiders to glimpse the upcoming development status of GTA 6. The expansion of the employee group chat and the inability to verify the identities of some new members also heightened his concerns about information leaks. He further suggested that individuals with access to internal information might profit from leaks as the game approached its release.
The above reflects Kinloch's statements during the hearing. The court has not yet determined that employee discussions constituted leaks, nor has it found that anyone sold information. Both sides still dispute the source of the information and the timing of the company's actions, and the hearing is ongoing.