Rockstar Games allegedly gave a staff member time off for watching a private union Discord server, according to evidence shown at the Rockstar union tribunal in Glasgow on October 16, 2026. The claim comes from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents the GTA 6 developers fired in 2025. Rockstar denies the firings had anything to do with union activity.
The evidence is a short message exchange. In it, a Rockstar HR manager lets an informant take an hour back after the worker spent an hour combing through the union server for screenshots.
Rockstar calls these people “whistleblowers.” The tribunal uses the neutral label “information providers,” and their names are redacted from the court papers.
What the Rockstar HR Messages Show
The exchange was put to Rockstar executive Jennifer Kolbe during cross-examination, as first reported by Vertical Slice. The Scotsman describes Kolbe as the company’s second most senior person.
In the messages, HR manager Julie Stephen offers the informant extra time off as compensation. The worker had spent an hour “going through everything” on the union server and collecting screenshots.
The informant asked for an hour off the next day. Stephen allegedly replied “no worries,” and the request was approved in Workday.
That last detail carries weight. A logged approval in an official HR system is much harder to wave away than a casual chat, and the union calls these rewards “sweeteners.”
Who Is “AB,” the Alleged Rockstar Discord Mole?
The time-off messages build on testimony from earlier in the hearing. On October 9, Kotaku reported that Rockstar Lincoln HR director Charlie Kinloch faced questions about a junior employee known only as “AB.”
According to that testimony, AB passed screenshots of union chats to Kinloch for more than two years. The fired developers argue AB and others were paid in “time off in lieu.”
AB will not give evidence. The claimants want the tribunal to draw an adverse inference from that silence, which means the judge could assume the missing testimony would have hurt Rockstar.
Kinloch was also asked why Rockstar waited until October 2025 to act. He said the company was close to a major announcement, so posts about working hours and crunch suddenly looked far more serious.
Why Rockstar Fired the GTA 6 Developers
Rockstar dismissed 34 employees in late October 2025, with 31 in the UK and three in Canada. The company says they shared confidential information on a Discord server and treats it as gross misconduct.
Rockstar has also claimed the server included a game journalist and an employee of a rival studio. IWGB communications officer Jake Thomas denied this to TechRadar and said all conversations “were to do with working conditions.”
Leaks are a sore point for the studio. This year alone it dealt with a ShinyHunters ransom threat against its corporate data and a week of leaked gameplay that ended with Rockstar apologizing to fans in August.
The firings came days before GTA 6 slipped from May 2026 to November 19, 2026. No testimony so far has linked the two events.
Why the Union Question Decides the Whole Case
UK law treats a dismissal as automatically unfair if the main reason was union membership or union activity. That rule sits in section 152 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
So everything hangs on motive. Did Rockstar fire these people for what they leaked, or for organising?
The informant evidence pushes straight at that point. If HR rewarded staff to watch union chats for two years, the IWGB can argue Rockstar was tracking organisers long before any leak.
Rockstar won the first round, though. In January 2026, the tribunal refused the union’s bid for interim relief and said it could not conclude that union membership was likely the main reason for the dismissals.
What Jennifer Kolbe Told the Tribunal
Kolbe pushed back hard during her evidence, according to The Scotsman. She called it “absolutely untrue” that she had known about the Discord server for years.
She said Rockstar is not anti-union and described the IWGB representatives she met as reasonable. When union lawyer Harry Stratton suggested co-founder Sam Houser “goes into these screaming rages,” Kolbe answered: “Sam does not scream at anyone.”
She also said there would be no crunch on GTA VI. Expect that line to be quoted back at Rockstar, since posts about hours and crunch sit at the centre of this dispute.
Rockstar Union Case Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Late October 2025 | Rockstar fires 34 staff (31 UK, 3 Canada) |
| November 2025 | GTA 6 delayed to November 19, 2026 |
| November 13, 2025 | IWGB says 220 Rockstar North staff sent letters backing the fired workers |
| January 2026 | Tribunal refuses interim relief |
| September 10, 2026 | Full hearing opens in Glasgow |
| October 9, 2026 | HR director questioned over the “AB” informant |
| October 16, 2026 | Time-off messages shown to Jennifer Kolbe |
| November 18, 2026 | Tribunal scheduled to conclude |
| November 19, 2026 | GTA 6 release date |
What Happens Next in the Rockstar Tribunal
Closing submissions are expected in November, with the hearing due to wrap on November 18. Judge Lucy Wiseman will then decide whether the dismissals were unfair.
UK employment tribunals often reserve judgment. That means the ruling could land after GTA 6 is already in players’ hands.
According to The Scotsman, 23 former employees remain claimants. The fired developers have asked fans to skip any GTA 6 boycott and back their legal fight instead, with updates posted by IWGB Game Workers.
None of this has moved the launch. GTA 6 is still dated for November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and with a budget estimated at $1 billion or more, Rockstar has plenty riding on that date.
