The controversy surrounding Rockstar Games' mass termination of over thirty employees just took an unexpected turn.
According to Rockstar (via IGN), the dismissed workers weren't just leaking information about Grand Theft Auto 6, they were allegedly revealing specific features from multiple upcoming and unannounced titles that nobody outside the company even knows exist.
This clarification is the latest update from Rockstar as far as explaining why it fired 34 people, including 31 in the United Kingdom and 3 in Canada, at the end of October. The controversial dismissals immediately drew the attention of the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain, which accused the company of union-busting, claiming the real motivation was to suppress organizing efforts rather than protect confidential information.
Rockstar's initial response to the firings was that it was gross misconduct. When pressed for more information, Rockstar elaborated slightly, saying the workers had distributed and discussed confidential information in a public forum in violation of company policy and legal obligations.
The situation escalated dramatically when the matter reached the highest levels of the UK government. During Prime Minister's Questions earlier this week, local MP Chris Murray raised the issue directly with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called it a deeply concerning case and promised a ministerial investigation.
