Former Rockstar staff currently embroiled in a legal battle with the company over their firings last year have asked supporters not to boycott GTA 6, but instead to consider helping cover the costs of their fight against Rockstar by buying specially-designed union merchandise.
The 34 former Rockstar staffers were fired in November last year, with the root of the issue reportedly being discussion of a new company Slack policy in a union-run Discord server. Rockstar accused the staff of leaking "confidential information on a public forum", while the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain (IWGB) accused Rockstar of union busting.
With the final trial in the subsequent legal battle between the two sides set to begin on September 10th, the IWGB and fired devs have outlined how they'd prefer supporters to show solidarity. Rather than boycott GTA 6, they're asking folks to buy specially-designed union t-shirts, the proceeds of which will go towards the fired devs' "Fighting Fund".
"We poured years of our lives into helping build this game. We don't want you to boycott it. We want you to help us fight for justice," IWGB Game Workers branch member and fired Rockstar dev Jack Hoxby put it. "Since Rockstar fired us suddenly last year, we’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support from gamers and workers around the world. Some people have asked whether they should boycott GTA VI to protest on our behalf. But there’s a better way to support us and hold Rockstar to account.
"Buy one of our T-shirts. You’ll be helping to win justice for us and to defend the right of workers everywhere to come together and unionise. That way, when GTA VI comes out in November, you can enjoy it knowing that you had the backs of the people who made it."
The shirts, dubbed 'Rockstar 34 Solidarity t-shirts', can currently be pre-ordered via the IWGB Game Workers' site for £25. The pre-order period will last until August 30th, with the shirts estimated to start shipping by mid‑September.
As the legal battle over last year's firings has rumbled on, remaining Rockstar devs and the IWGB have formed the Rockstar Games Workers Union and have been seeking recognition from the company.
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