GTA 6 developer reveals morale at the studio is at 'rock bottom,' fears of third delay

A GTA 6 developer has revealed morale at Rockstar Games has reached 'rock bottom' following the abrupt firing of veteran employees.

GTA 6 developer reveals morale at the studio is at 'rock bottom,' fears of third delay
Comment IconFacebook IconX IconReddit Icon
Tech and Science Editor
Published
1 minute & 45 seconds read time
TL;DR: A verified Rockstar North employee revealed studio morale is at "rock bottom" following the second delay of Grand Theft Auto 6 to 2026 and the firing of 30-40 senior staff involved in union organizing. Remaining employees fear reprisals, impacting trust, confidence, and project deadlines.

A verified employee at Rockstar North has shed light on the current situation at the studio in a lengthy post on the GTAForums website, revealing that morale at the studio has hit "rock bottom".

GTA 6 developer reveals morale at the studio is at 'rock bottom,' fears of third delay 766
2

The insight into the happenings at Rockstar comes after the developer officially delayed the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 to November 19, 2026, marking the second delay for the highly anticipated title. Additionally, the employee said the morale at the developer is at "rock bottom" following Rockstar firing between 30 and 40 staff members over what the employee says was "union-busting and nothing else". According to the employee, the staff who were fired were "predominantly from those who were on the Union Organising Committees of each UK studio."

Adding, "Those of us who are lucky and remain for now work in fear! Fearful when talking to each other at the tea prep, fearful that we're next in line and are easily got rid of, too scared to go outside the studio and talk to (or even acknowledge) our colleagues outside protesting in fear of reprisals."

Notably, the employee said that many of the staff members that were fired from the developers are "very senior artists, animators, QA testers, designers, programmers and producers. Including Leads."

Furthermore, many of these now former employees are people that have worked over multiple Rockstar titles, and as a result of their departure, "Morale in the studio is at rock bottom when we should be excited about what's to come over the next year we are now totally deflated and our trust and confidence in others is totally shot."

"These colleagues of mine were hard workers who have spent many, many years at R* in critical roles. With colleagues who have been at R* for more than 18 years and none of them have ever had a disciplinary in that time. They are not easily replaced and will certainly affect us in making our project deadlines," said the employee