Rockstar Games is facing a trial that ends on November 18. This is exactly a day before the release date of Grand Theft Auto VI. That is why we have such a close eye on labor practices at the studio.
Labor dispute concludes just before the major game release
There is a huge public eye on the company. This is right when the company was waiting for its most prominent release. We and everyone else will see how this legal stuff affects the status of the game and the stability of the studio's operations.
The charges are directed by the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB). They claim the company recruited informants to monitor a private Discord server where the unionized developers worked on the game. Rockstar says they had to fire workers. The reason was the leak of the project's confidential information.
The court has seen evidence. It's messages in which HR manager Julie Steven promises an employee to give an extra day off. She responded "no problem" after the employee asked to monitor the union server.
By the way, this decision to give extra days off was made using the company's official internal tool. That's how it works in Rockstar. Over 30 employees were fired. However, the legal process is ongoing.
By the way, we keep a close eye on the development of the title. In one of the past articles, we said that Rockstar recently fixed the 18-year-old bug in the animation of RAGE engine for GTA VI trailer. It's a technical aspect. It shows that the development is polishing the title before the release date.
The trial is set to finish on November 18. It's exactly a day before the worldwide launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. The court will decide on the legal status of the fired employees. In other words, will the union allegations against the publisher be valid?
Source: IXBT
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