The sudden dismissal of 34 Rockstar Games employees has dominated tech and gaming headlines for weeks. While the company publicly stated that the terminations were related to the leaking of confidential information, several reports pointed to a different cause—workers’ attempts to organize a union.
A new investigative report has now brought a clearer picture to light. Recently leaked Discord messages appear to be the immediate trigger behind the mass terminations, exposing internal tensions centered around workplace policies rather than leaks about upcoming titles.
Why Rockstar Fired 34 Employees
According to a new video investigation published by the channel People Make Games, an internal source shared screenshots from a private Discord server used by Rockstar employees since 2022.
The source, who was neither among the dismissed workers nor a union member, said the messages contained no confidential information about ongoing projects such as the highly anticipated GTA 6. Instead, the conversations focused heavily on controversial internal changes to company policy.
In early October, Rockstar reportedly implemented a revision of its internal Slack policies. This included removing several channels the company considered unnecessary, claiming they contributed to distractions and poor workplace behavior that reduced productivity.
This move, described by employees as a “Slack purge,” was not welcomed internally. Workers discussed the impact on morale and productivity inside the dedicated union Discord server. One leaked message shows an employee questioning the logic behind the decision, warning that it would harm the team’s overall morale.
The Point of Escalation
The leaks suggest that sharing internal company emails about the new policy changes within the Discord server became the turning point. One member of the server reportedly contacted studio management to express concern about the ongoing discussions.
This action is believed to have either initiated an internal investigation or accelerated an existing one, eventually granting Rockstar access to the union’s private Discord server.
Shortly after this investigation began, Rockstar announced the termination of 34 employees. The report suggests that the company may have targeted individuals involved in union-related discussions about internal policies and categorized their behavior as a violation of company guidelines—using “preventing leaks” as the official justification.
This latest revelation strongly indicates that the real reason behind Rockstar’s dismissal of 34 employees was internal conflict tied to working conditions and union organization efforts—not the leaking of game-related information as initially claimed.
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