Rockstar's Union Tribunal: What October's Hearings Showed
The employment tribunal over Rockstar’s dismissal of 34 employees in October 2025 heard from the studio’s senior leadership in Glasgow this month. Its HR chief denied that the firings were revenge against a union, and Jennifer Kolbe, one of Rockstar’s most senior executives, said she was the ultimate decision-maker on the dismissals. The hearing was due to end on October 16. It will now close with final submissions on November 17 and 18, the day before GTA 6 launches, and the ruling will come later.
The case in brief
Rockstar dismissed 34 people in October 2025, many of them at Rockstar North in Edinburgh, over what it called the sharing of confidential company information on a Discord server. Twenty-three of them are bringing the case, represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), and claim they were unfairly dismissed for trade union activities, according to PA Media. The union calls it union busting.
Rockstar’s position has not changed. A spokesperson said individuals in the UK and Canada were dismissed for gross misconduct, not because of union membership or activity, and that the company rejects the claims and will defend them vigorously. In January, the tribunal refused the workers’ request for interim relief, saying it could not be sure at that stage that the case would succeed.
October 9: the Discord informant
Kotaku reported on the questioning of Charlie Kinloch, Rockstar Lincoln co-studio manager and HR director. The hearing centred on an employee identified only as AB, who, according to the evidence, passed screenshots from the union’s Discord server to Kinloch for more than two years before Rockstar acted. The workers’ lawyer pressed him on that timing. Kinloch said his concern was the risk of leaks, not union status, which he said he did not know. Rockstar also told the tribunal that at least one journalist was in one of the server’s channels. AB was not called to testify.
October 15: Rockstar’s HR chief and Kolbe
According to PA’s account of the hearing, the claimants’ lawyer put it to Robert Spampinato, Rockstar’s global head of human resources, that the trigger for the sackings was learning, through AB, that the union was close to the membership threshold for formal recognition. He disputed that account, and rejected the suggestion that the dismissals were revenge against the union branch, calling it “preposterous”. He also denied that the decision to dismiss followed a later report that the union had crossed the threshold, and said the people who posted most often were also the ones who had made the most disparaging posts in breach of company policy.
Kolbe gave evidence the same day. She said she was the ultimate decision-maker on the dismissals, described the discovery of the Discord server as an unprecedented situation for the company, and rejected the word moles for the employees who had passed on information, calling them whistleblowers.
October 16: the time off messages
On October 16 the IWGB showed Kolbe messages in which, as Vertical Slice reported, an HR manager approved an hour off for an informant who had said they spent an hour going through the server and taking screenshots. The union presented it as a reward for monitoring the server. Rockstar calls the allegations baseless, says it did not know whether the claimants were union members, and acknowledges accessing the server’s public channels, according to TheGamer. Citing The Independent, TheGamer adds that Spampinato denied compiling information and said he was not aware that anyone had been asked to gather it.
Why the case now runs into November
The final hearing was scheduled to end on October 16. Rock Paper Shotgun reported, after People Make Games’ Chris Bratt broke the news, that Rockstar’s lawyers were granted more time to cross-examine some of the fired workers, while the union was still finishing its questioning of Rockstar’s leadership. Closing submissions are now set for November 17 and 18 in Glasgow. No date has been given for the judgment.
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | 34 employees dismissed | PA |
| January 2026 | Interim relief refused | Tribunal ruling, as reported |
| October 9, 2026 | HR director questioned on the Discord informant | Kotaku |
| October 15, 2026 | Spampinato and Kolbe give evidence | PA |
| October 16, 2026 | Time off messages shown; hearing extended | Vertical Slice, Rock Paper Shotgun |
| November 17 and 18, 2026 | Closing submissions | Rock Paper Shotgun |
What it means for GTA 6
Nothing in the tribunal touches the release. GTA 6 is still dated November 19, 2026, as our release date guide tracks. What the case shows is how seriously Rockstar has treated leaks during the game’s final years, the same concern behind its response to the summer’s footage leaks, covered in our report on Rockstar’s statement, and behind the leaker saga of this month, in our piece on Cyberleek’s October ultimatum. We will report the judgment when it is published.