Members of the Rockstar Game Workers Union in the United Kingdom publicly accused Rockstar Games on July 1, 2026, of failing to address gender-based pay inequity, intentionally facilitating crunch, and using bonus payments to control staff.
According to reports by gamesindustry. biz and gamedeveloper.
com, three anonymous union members stated these labor issues are negatively affecting the workforce currently developing Grand Theft Auto VI.
The employees are part of a group currently seeking voluntary union recognition from Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive.
Bonus System and Career Progression Concerns
The workers expressed major concerns over the company's compensation structure, explaining that unpredictable bonus systems create massive annual income fluctuations based on retroactive and subjective performance feedback.
"When the bonus is particularly good, it can be a windfall, but often the bonus is disappointing and one can end up being paid considerably less than expected for the year," said an anonymous union member.
Union members also claimed that career progression is hindered because the studio frequently changes requirements for promotions, leaving workers with little clarity regarding their advancement.
"The reasoning given for this is often nebulous, inconsistent between departments, even inconsistent between team members within the same department, and sometimes hinges on completely subjective or retroactive criticisms," said the source.
The employees noted that because a substantial portion of their total compensation relies on these discretionary payments, staff members feel pressured to comply entirely with management's demands.
"The main problem is that [bonuses and progression are] all completely discretionary for the company, and they are under no obligation to show their working.
Employees want good pay, and if literally anything they do that year could affect it, they will naturally feel they have to be as pliable as possible to their boss's whims," the worker continued.
Gender Pay Gap and Overtime Allegations
The union also reported that the median gender pay gap at Rockstar has widened in recent years after previous remediation initiatives were discontinued.
Furthermore, nightshift workers reportedly lost extra benefits intended to offset unsociable hours, while leadership retains remote working flexibility that was revoked for standard staff.
"There are those [within Rockstar and Take-Two] with hundreds of millions of pounds, there are those receiving excellent pay for their work and are grateful, and there are certainly those that are woefully underpaid for their effort and the incredible profits gained.
Especially when you consider that the company gets hundreds of millions in tax breaks for [its] UK workers," said an anonymous employee.
The workforce also challenged the studio's approach to overtime, alleging that Rockstar normalizes crunch by automatically embedding a UK Working Time Regulations opt-out clause into standard employment contracts.
"Crunch is prevalent enough that the company built into our contracts, as standard, an opt out of the Working Time Regulations [a UK employment right that can be voluntarily relinquished by employees] that stops your employer being able to ask you to do more than about 10 hours extra each week," explained a source.
Following a successful union campaign explaining that workers could opt back into the regulations to limit overtime, Rockstar management simplified the HR process.
However, employees state certain departments remain in a perpetual cycle of excessive overtime.
"The union successfully ran a campaign to inform people they could opt back in to the regulations at any time, which resulted in Rockstar management simplifying the process and removing the obligation to meet with HR.
Part of the problem with crunch is that there is not an agreed definition, and now it seems the company thinks that offering specific and limited compensation as an incentive for overtime means it no longer qualifies as crunch," the worker continued.
The employees emphasized that under current conditions, frontline staff lack input regarding their superiors and must rely entirely on management's willingness to cooperate.
"For us workers, we have no say in who our superiors are.
We must try to work with them regardless and hope that they are more interested in engaging with their employees to build some mutual trust moving forward," explained one source.
In response to the union's allegations, Take-Two Interactive stated that they foster a corporate culture focused on teamwork, excellence, and kindness while supporting staff across all business levels through competitive compensation and benefits policies.
"We are proud that as a result, our employee retention is well above the industry standard.
We have received a request from a union seeking to discuss voluntary recognition.
We value an open and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders and will arrange to meet," said Take-Two Interactive in an official statement.
