Chris Bratt

Another Member of Scottish Parliament (@ross-greer.bsky.social was at a demo two weeks ago as well) joins the fired workers outside Rockstar North in Edinburgh.

"I stand with the workers. I hope that they will be reinstated before Christmas to this job that they love..."

We were also joined by trade unionists from the Republic of Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Germany!

STJV statement: "Unions have always faced repression, the last resort of the weak to try to delay what is bound to happen... The STJV stands with IWGB Game Workers and all workers at Rockstar. We demand immediate reintegration for all our fired comrades, in the United Kingdom and in Canada.”

STJV demonstrate outside the Paris offices of Take Two, holding flags, banners and flares.

Protests continued today outside Take Two's offices in London, but also in Paris, where Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (@stjv.fr) came out to show their international solidarity with the fired Rockstar workers.

The Rockstar union case made its way into UK Parliament earlier today

(Presumably this is one letter with 220 signatures, rather than 220 individual letters? But either way, a significant portion of Rockstar's employees.)

More protests are planned at both the London and Paris Take Two offices on Friday morning and outside the Rockstar North offices in Edinburgh on Tuesday next week.

A demonstration for the fired Rockstar employees held in Edinburgh last week outside the front entrance of Rockstar North.

The IWGB has just announced that 220 letters, signed by Rockstar staff, have now been delivered to leadership at the company, demanding the immediate reinstatement of their fired colleagues.

jfc

NEW: the IWGB has filed formal legal claims against Rockstar after it says the company refused to meet to discuss bringing back fired developers.

"Rockstar has declined to meet with the IWGB, leading the union and barristers to issue formal legal claims on behalf of the Claimants."

YouTube video by People Make Games The Rockstar Workers Fired Before They Could Finish GTA 6

If you care about games, I hope you also care about the people who work hard and sacrifice so much to make them... Only to be tossed aside.
People Make Games is one approachable way to learn more - this video is about GTA, but check their backlog for more.
youtu.be/c9nOwjeznjI?...

🌱

You can hear how angry and hurt these devs are. It's in their shaky voices and the way they talk about their work. It's an awful situation, for those who were forced out and those who remain

A plastic seedling clipped to my bag, representing the emoji used by the Rockstar Games Workers Union in their organising efforts.

Shoutout to whichever Rockstar union member attached one of their seedlings to my bag when I wasn’t looking at the demonstration.

I’ve been delighted to have it on there ever since.

Chris interviewing one of the IWGB organizers attending last week's demosntration.

A still from a video call interview with the IWGB President, Alex Marshall.

But despite the shell shock, the Rockstar 31 (as well as three workers fired in Canada) are now preparing to fight what they believe to be the unlawful actions taken by Rockstar management.

I also spoke to the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain about what to expect next.

Chris interviewing a fired Rockstar union member outside the Rockstar North offices in Ediburgh.

Rockstar union members and their supporters chanting as part of a demonstration last week.

There's a cold brutality to this story that you'll only understand by hearing from the former employees themselves as they describe the "internal shame" and "profound sense of loss" that comes with being discarded in this way.

A fired Rockstar employee speaking through a megaphone at a demonstration outside the Rockstar North offices in Edinburgh.

A collection of signs resting on the floor, including a yet-to-be-filled five star wanted placard.

I spoke to people who'd been with this company for more than a decade, who describe Rockstar and its games as a core part of their own identity.

And yet those very same developers were escorted out of the office by security, with no chance to say goodbye to colleagues or to even clear their desks.

YouTube video by People Make Games The Rockstar Workers Fired Before They Could Finish GTA 6

I went to meet the 'Rockstar 31', the developers who were suddenly fired from their work on GTA 6 for what the studio has described as gross misconduct.

That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...

Hahaha oh my gosh

jumpscare in image 3

The front entrance of Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This seems outrageously cruel.

And just a handful of months before these folks would have been set to enjoy the release of one of the biggest games of their careers too.

The imbalance of power in the games industry remains utterly fucked.

Great primer here on all the *extremely weird shit* we’ve seen these last couple of days linking Trump, ICE and the Master Chief.

Vital to have people like @alyssamerc.bsky.social on this beat, as miserably bleak as it is.

Thanks to PMG's patrons for providing us with the funding this month to pay for a VFX artist to remove a bogey from my nose in some *extremely important footage* that we really cannot shoot again 🙃

Greta Thunberg: “They kicked me every time the flag touched my face” – Greta Thunberg on her days in Israeli captivity Beating, kicking, and threats of being gassed in cages. Greta Thunberg and several others from the flotilla ar

We’ve met with Greta Thunberg and others in the flotilla. They describe hours-long scenes of torture and sexual harassment in Israeli captivity. Experts conclude that they have been subjected to serious crimes – Sweden’s foreign minister believes they have themselves to blame.

tinyurl.se/crR

Love love love seeing Jim doing this kind of stuff! Give it a watch.

What have they done to you, my old friend?

Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File

SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...

This week I’m going to raise money for @medicalaidpal.bsky.social to help Palestinians in need.

On Fri I'll start & finish Metal Gear Solid, MGS2 on Sat, Delta on Sun. It'll be 9 AM PT each day on www.twitch.tv/tamoorh.

Fundraiser is live on my Twitch. Please share if you can!

Hot damn this is a *luxurious* preview! And what a game to kick things off with too.