According to IGN, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick is defending the company’s “extraordinary” culture amid accusations of union busting at Rockstar Games, where between 30 and 40 employees were fired last week for allegedly discussing confidential information in a public Discord. Rockstar claims the firings were for “gross misconduct,” while the employees and the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain say it was actually about union organizing in a private channel. This controversy comes alongside Take-Two’s quarterly earnings call and the announcement that GTA 6 has been delayed from its original 2025 window to November 19, 2026. Zelnick pointed to Take-Two’s 6% global attrition rate and Rockstar’s 4% rate as evidence of their strong culture, comparing it to what he claimed was an industry average of over 12%.
Corporate Speak vs Reality
Here’s the thing about corporate responses to labor disputes: they almost always follow the same playbook. Zelnick’s response is textbook – pivot to attrition rates, mention some “best employer” awards, and talk about how much they value their “colleagues.” But when directly asked about Take-Two’s stance on unions? Complete non-answer. He dodged that question entirely.
And let’s talk about those attrition numbers for a second. Zelnick claims the industry average is “over 12%” but when pressed, a spokesperson admitted this came from Take-Two’s “own internal research” using “a variety of related data platforms.” That’s corporate speak for “we picked numbers that make us look good.” In an industry known for crunch culture and burnout, low attrition could mean many things – including that people are afraid to leave or that the company is very selective about who they hire in the first place.
Pattern of Behavior
This isn’t Rockstar’s first labor controversy. Remember last year when they suddenly demanded everyone return to office five days a week? They cited productivity and security concerns after the GTA 6 leaks, but workers saw it as breaking promises and refusing to engage with their concerns. Now we have what looks suspiciously like targeted firings of union organizers.
The timing is pretty convenient too. GTA 6 gets delayed, which means more pressure on the development team, and suddenly dozens of employees organizing for better conditions get fired? That doesn’t smell right. As IWGB boss Alex Marshall pointed out, Rockstar executives have benefited from £443 million in tax relief while showing “total disregard for the law or the livelihoods of their staff.”
What’s Really at Stake
Look, the gaming industry has a long history of treating developers as disposable, especially during crunch periods leading up to major releases. With GTA 6 now pushed to late 2026, the pressure on Rockstar’s workforce is only going to increase. Union organizing is fundamentally about having a collective voice to push back against that pressure.
So when a company fires people for “discussing confidential information” in what employees claim was a private union channel, it raises serious questions. Were they actually leaking game details? Or were they just talking about working conditions? The fact that the only non-Rockstar people in the Discord were union organizers suggests this was about labor organizing, not corporate espionage.
The Bigger Picture
Basically, we’re seeing a classic corporate labor dispute play out in real time. Management talks about culture and attrition rates while avoiding direct questions about union stance. Workers get fired under questionable circumstances. And the actual humans making one of the most anticipated games in history are caught in the middle.
The real test won’t be what awards Take-Two wins or what their attrition numbers say. It’ll be whether GTA 6 actually ships in 2026 without another round of crunch controversy – and whether the people who make these billion-dollar franchises get treated with the dignity they deserve. Right now, that’s looking pretty uncertain.
