Employee dismissed from GTA developer believes workers were put on ‘watch list’

A worker dismissed from the developer of Grand Theft Auto has told an employment tribunal they believe employees were placed on a “watch list” after signing a petition about remote working.

The former staff member also said that discussions in a Discord chat room at the centre of the employment tribunal could sometimes get “a bit out of hand”.

A group of former employees of Rockstar are claiming they were unfairly dismissed for trade union activities.

Some 34 people are believed to have been dismissed in October last year and 23 are taking part in the employment tribunal.

They are being represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB).

Rockstar has said it will vigorously contest the tribunal and accused the former employees of breaching the company’s confidentiality rules by discussing sensitive information on a Discord server.

Dayne Oram, one of those dismissed, gave evidence to the tribunal in Glasgow on Friday.

The tribunal heard around 150 Rockstar employees, not all of them union members, signed a petition about returning to the office, which was handed to the company in the spring of 2023.

Thomas Cordrey, representing Rockstar, asked Mx Oram whether they believe the fact they were one of those who signed the petition was the “sole or principal reason for your dismissal”.

The witness replied: “Not just that, I think it was connected to my other activities. It was maybe the start of them keeping an eye on things but it was not the sole reason.”

Mr Cordrey asked how there could be a connection between Rockstar having the list of names in February 2023 and the dismissals in October 2025 when there was a gap of two years and eight months between the events.

Mx Oram replied: “I believe this forms the basis of a watch list of people to keep an eye on for further activities.”

Mr Cordrey asked how, when 141 of 154 people who signed the petition were not dismissed, “how can that even be the starting point?”

The witness replied: “I believe it was the starting point and used to watch people for activities that were considered distasteful.”

The tribunal also heard Mx Oram was involved in setting up a Discord server that was used as a forum where around 300 Rockstar employees could discuss the company.

Mr Cordrey mentioned a number of posts where he suggested employees were “venting” or making disparaging remarks about the firm.

Mr Cordrey read from the rules set out by moderators asking users to be “professional and constructive” and put it to Mx Oram that these were “routinely broken”.

Mx Oram said it was “more of a guiding principle”.

The tribunal heard a comment describing a specific manager as “incompetent” was removed by moderators.

When Mr Cordrey asked why that comment about a specific manager was deleted whereas others were left, Mx Oram said they believed it was because the latter were more “general” and “generic” and not individual.

Mx Oram also told the tribunal: “If I had to remake some of the moderation decisions, probably I would make them differently now.”

The former Rockstar employee also said moderators did not want to “over-police” the chat room.

The witness told the tribunal: “We were human admins trying to keep the line without over-policing.”

It was later put to Mx Oram that there had been a “backlash” against the “derogatory” content on Discord.

Mr Cordrey suggested there were times when staff “venting” on Discord had got “completely out of hand”.

Mx Oram said: “I disagree that it was completely out of hand but I do agree there were times it could get a bit out of hand, yes.”

The tribunal also heard that some of those in the Discord group were former employees.

Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest instalment in the popular video game series, is due for release on November 19.

Pre-orders of the game are already thought to have been worth hundreds of millions.

Lawyers for the claimants are expected to allege that workers were unlawfully blacklisted and targeted for their union activities.

Rockstar Games has said the workers were dismissed for “gross misconduct” following the sharing of confidential information, rather than trade union activity.

A spokesperson for Rockstar Games said: “Rockstar Games’ position has been clear and consistent throughout.

“Individuals across the UK and Canada were dismissed for gross misconduct following the sharing of confidential company information, not because of alleged trade union membership or activity.

“We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal.”

The tribunal continues before Judge Lucy Wiseman.