Court Case Unveils Possible First Look at GTA 6 Online Features
Rockstar recently found itself in court against the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, aiming to resolve claims that over 30 employees were unfairly dismissed for alleged “gross misconduct.” The studio accused these developers of leaking sensitive information, but some of that information has surfaced during the proceedings, hinting at potential details about GTA 6 Online.
A video from an outlet has been tracking the ongoing conflict between Rockstar and the union, highlighting key moments from the court case. During the preliminary hearing, Rockstar’s lawyer referred to a “top-secret element of GTA 6,” expressing hesitation to discuss it openly and requesting the judge to review it privately. Despite this confidentiality, the outlet managed to access the documents since Rockstar did not impose reporting restrictions.
The documents revealed messages from a terminated employee who vented about difficulties in taking time off after Rockstar tightened leave policies. “They mentioned the large session we did today ‘being difficult to do,’ but that was 32 players, not sure how that was difficult,” the ex-employee noted in a Discord chat, mentioning they were part of a 56-person team. Another fired employee chimed in, suggesting that with multiple QA studios, organizing a 32-player session shouldn’t be an issue.
Rockstar claims these messages contain “highly confidential and commercially sensitive information” regarding the unannounced online service, arguing that discussing the number of players planned for this service constitutes a leak. If the 32-player cap is indeed the target for GTA 6’s online mode, it’s not a major surprise, as the current GTA Online already supports 32 players per server. This revelation also contradicts previous rumors that an upgraded version of GTA Online would accommodate 64 players, with aspirations for 96-player servers in the future.
Additionally, some messages cited by Rockstar as justification for the dismissals are intriguing, not for their content about GTA 6, but for what the studio deems “gross misconduct.” These include discussions about crunch time, concerns over generative AI, and changes to employee perks. One notable example is a brief 15-word message: “Nothing that I’ve heard in North QA! Will keep you updated if that changes ofc.” Rockstar argued that this message revealed working patterns within the team, potentially allowing industry insiders to infer the development stage of GTA 6.
This preliminary hearing marks just the beginning of the legal battle between Rockstar and the union. The judge was asked to decide whether Rockstar should provide “interim relief” to the dismissed employees while awaiting the full trial’s outcome. However, the Glasgow Employment Tribunal denied the request for interim relief, with the full trial still on the horizon.
