Employee fired by GTA developer Rockstar believes workers were put on 'watch list'

A worker fired by the developer of Grand Theft Auto has told an employment tribunal they believe staff were placed on a "watch list" after signing a petition about remote working.

They also admitted that discussions in a Discord chat room at the centre of the row could sometimes get "a bit out of hand".

A group of former employees of Edinburgh-based Rockstar North are claiming they were unfairly dismissed for trade union activities.

Some 34 people in the UK and Canada are believed to have been dismissed in October 2025 and 23 are taking part in the tribunal.

They are being represented by the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB).

Rockstar North is a studio of Rockstar Games, which is owned by New York-based software company, Take-Two Interactive.

The company has said it will "vigorously" contest the allegations and accused the ex-employees of breaching the company's confidentiality rules by discussing sensitive information on a Discord server.

The tribunal in Glasgow heard on Friday that around 150 Rockstar employees, not all of them union members, signed a petition about returning to the office, which was handed to the company in the spring of 2023.

Thomas Cordrey, representing Rockstar, asked one of those dismissed whether they believe the fact they were one of those who signed the petition was the "sole or principal reason for your dismissal".

Dayne Oram replied: "Not just that, I think it was connected to my other activities. It was maybe the start of them keeping an eye on things, but it was not the sole reason."

The inquiry heard that around 15 to 20 of those who signed the petition were union members but that there was nothing on the list of signatories to identify them.

Mr Cordrey asked how there could be a connection between Rockstar having the list of names in February 2023 and the dismissals in October 2025 when there was a gap of two years and eight months between the events.

He also highlighted that 141 of 154 people who signed the petition were not dismissed.

The witness replied: "I believe it was the starting point and used to watch people for activities that were considered distasteful."

Read more from the tribunal:
Unfair dismissal tribunal begins against Rockstar

Mx Oram was said to have been involved in setting up a Discord server that was used as a forum where around 300 Rockstar employees could discuss the company.

Mr Cordrey highlighted a number of posts where he suggested workers were "venting", while some posted abusive messages about bosses or made disparaging remarks about the firm.

Mr Cordrey asked: "Calling a named individual the C-word is not common. If you saw it, would it be gross misconduct?"

The witness added: "It would be misconduct. I disagree it would be gross misconduct. If I had to remake some of the moderation decisions, probably I would make them differently now.

"I disagree that it was completely out of hand but I do agree there were times it could get a bit out of hand, yes."

The tribunal also heard that some of those in the Discord group were former employees.

Grand Theft Auto VI, also known as GTA 6, is the latest instalment in the blockbuster video game series and is due to be released on 19 November.

Pre-orders of the game are already thought to have been worth hundreds of millions.

The inquiry, before judge Lucy Wiseman, continues.

(c) Sky News 2026: Employee fired by GTA developer Rockstar believes workers were put on 'watch list'