cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/52397079
You must log in or register to comment.
- 11 days
Rockstar management did not have direct access to the server prior to October 2025, but the former workers and their legal team allege that “from at least February 2024, [Rockstar HR director] Charlie Kinloch had been receiving information from a junior employee on trade union activity inside the Server”. They claim that “over 21 months, at least 26 meetings or communications took place between Mr Kinloch and [the junior employee] concerning the Server, roughly half of them initiated by Mr Kinloch himself”. Related
The “mole” is said to have “supplied screenshots and recordings, reported union meetings, training sessions and union membership numbers, and identified individual union activists”. On 7th October 2025, they allegedly informed Kinlock that the union were 12 members away from the statutory threshold for recognition - 10% of the workforce. The union eventually reached this milestone on 18th October, with Kinloch learning of this on 20th October, the fired workers claim. At some point in this period, they go on, Rockstar management got hold of logins for the server, with Rockstar’s vice president of information security Abid Ansari eventually signing in to download “the contents of the Announcements and General channels”. Rockstar began firing members of the Discord at the end of the month.
Just classic union busting. Srsly. Don’t fucking give Rockstar money now of all times. Sales number is the only language they speak. If you support unions, at least fucking wait on GTA 6. Wait until workers get rehired, unions enancted, Rockstar stops breaking employment laws.
If waiting too much of a bother, if you want the game too much, then go ahead and cross the picket line. Know it’s full of fired workers with families to support, some losing their homes, some losing the country as work visas getting revoked/being deported, all becoming unhirable in the industry since their last reference is claiming misconduct. But if none of that is a problem, then go ahead and be a scab.
- godsammitdam@lemmy.zipEnglish11 days
If waiting too much of a bother, if you want the game too much, then go ahead and cross the picket line
We have so many people that are just this unfortunately.
- 11 days
Unfortunate that this junior employee is apparently anonymous.
11 daysyeah would love to see this chud get recognized for his/her GREAT fuckin work shitting on their coworkers and undermining solidarity.
recognized like never fucking employed by anyone with a soul
- Sackett@thelemmy.clubEnglish11 days
Guaranteed the worm isn’t skilled enough to rise above his station on his own, so tried to use this to curry favor with the middle managers. Too bad he’s useless to them now that the people that trusted him were fired.
still, it would be nice for them to be known for their little espionage coup… make 'em famous.
- jtrek@startrek.websiteEnglish11 days
Sales number is the only language they speak.
They also speak violence, but historically that’s in the form of the rich and/or the state attacking labor.
Strangely, but understandably, the fired workers do not want people to boycott GTA VI because they poured their heart and soul into it. They would like people to financially support their legal fight instead.
https://iwgb.org.uk/en/post/dont-boycott-gta-back-legal-fight/
Unfortunately there is no realistic way that people would boycott GTA for anything, let alone this. People tried to rally for a Sony boycott and it has as much affect as a bug trying to push back a truck.
- Guitar@lemmy.worldEnglish12 days
Rockstar is a disgusting company. I wish everyone would see them for the filth they are rather than blindly guzzling GTA VI hype. More than ever in their history, their game deserves to fail. But unfortunately, too many people will hold their nose and ensure it’s a giant success.
- theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
Not that I personally give a fuck about GTA generally, but it does make me upset that one of the few methods we have to “police” these companies as consumers is to not buy the game. To take a massive project that consumed however many years of work by however many developers and artists just and make it a commercial failure just to… stick it to their bosses? It’s like refusing to buy a musician’s CD because you don’t like the record company they made a deal with. Nobody gets to enjoy the music and the musician makes less money. This system sucks.
- spankysalmon@fedinsfw.appEnglish11 days
The employees have already been paid as much as they’re going to and will be rewarded by being laid off. Not buying it only punishes the shithead management that will otherwise give themselves massive year end bonuses.
- Dagnet@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
Exactly. The triple A industry pretty much never passes profits to the devs and a game selling well does not lead to job security. Don’t buy the game or pirate it, there no moral issue here
- theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
Given that the power to support the game is literally the only power we have, there is no moral issue - I agree. I don’t, however, understand what’s wrong with wishing for a system that gives consumers and workers more options.
- theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
will be rewarded by being laid off. Not buying it only punishes the shithead management
While I agree with the sentiment, that’s a gross oversimplification.
- While I’m sure the studio will likely downsize and lay off staff, many will stay on.
- Passion and care inevitably went into the game, to some degree. I would be surprised if devs and artists were indifferent to its success, whether they kept their jobs or not.
- It’s hugely different to be laid off after a hit game vs a failure of a game, when it comes to finding new work.
- The art itself, if it was of any quality, is wasted.
Again, I’m not advocating people buy it. I just wish we had the power to fight some other way. I won’t be buying it, but I wouldn’t have bought it anyway. It will also very likely sell like hotcakes, regardless of our posturing.
just wish we had the power to fight some other way
I mean… ddos’s are effective…
- 11 days
its almost like the problem is capitalism. wait that cant be right…
- dudeface@lemmy.worldEnglish12 days
They won their initial case, the other tribunals will be done before launch
Not sure where your hate is coming from but it doesn’t seem anyone was fired unfairly
- dudeface@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
How?; they won tribunals so far and the company is unionising
These people were fired for breaching contracts, wasn’t union busting
- I_Jedi@lemmy.todayEnglish10 days
Correct! There can be no mercy for criminal scum.
My only regret is that HR didn’t go further. The contract breakers should’ve been taken to a dark room, with dim light, and then taught to remember their true allegiance.
- boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish11 days
Here’s what we know:
A bunch of employees were in a discord server, organizing
Many of those employees were fired
How’s that not union busting?
- dudeface@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
Not all Rockstar employees in that discord were fired, was only the ones leaking information
- village604@adultswim.fanEnglish11 days
I’m not saying it’s a justification here, but the principle of least access is an important part of security best practices.
There are completely valid reasons to restrict what information can be shared.
- dudeface@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
And others including journalists
The info is out there, easy to look up
- 11 days
For anyone who wants more coverage of this, the “people make games” channel on YouTube has been doing ongoing coverage where they discuss things with the worker and talk about what had been happening
Great channel
Really need to start teaching opsec in highschool and college.
- boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish11 days
How’s opsec going to help against a rat anyway? If an insider gives out information, you’re toast anyway, unless you have some kind of a cell network going on like some terrorist organizations and that’s, uh, a bit too much for organizing an union
- Doc_Crankenstein@slrpnk.netEnglish11 days
OpSec includes vetting people and structuring your organization in a way that frustrates a rat’s ability to gain access to sensitive information.
Having a structured internal network for the union isn’t “a bit much”, it’s a basic necessity to proper organization.
- boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish11 days
And yet - if the people organizing are completely anonymous and you can’t even know for sure they’re your coworkers, would you trust them?
- Doc_Crankenstein@slrpnk.netEnglish11 days
If you’re allowing anonymous people into your private server you have failed in your OpSec.
The solution to this is to not allow anonymous people into a private server used for organizing. You vet them first before giving access. Basic OpSec 101.
It works for the CIA. And they even wrote a declassified on exactly what we are talking about.
Like saying how is a fire extinguisher going to help a house fire.
Point is, good opsec prevents it from becoming a house fire.
Study OPSEC. It has an entire segment on dealing with spies (rats), internally, and outside.
- vorpuni@tarte.nuage-libre.frFrançais11 days
SimpleX makes you anonymous and messages can’t be attributed to you. HR would probably believe screenshots still. If people identify themselves on the chat, and they don’t have to.
- Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish11 days
I don’t see how it’s some advanced technical process. It all comes down to the quandary of who to trust. If you don’t trust enough people, you don’t grow the movement. In this case, all it took was one figure to whom they overextended how much trust he was worth.
- Doc_Crankenstein@slrpnk.netEnglish11 days
And that means there was a failure of OpSec in that it allowed someone untrustworthy access to sensitive information.
A key part of OpSec is figuring out who to trust and how much of it they are extended.
- 11 days
Seeing more governments salivating over chat control and banning VPNs, some even actively implementing these, I really dont’t think we’re seeing OPSEC being taught in schools or colleges.
They used to tell us to be careful around the Internet, don’t use real names or give addresses or phone numbers or share any of our personal information online, to be cautios, to beware… now it’s all about “You dont’t have to worry if you don’t have anything to hide” and giving away all of your data voluntarily or being denied service until you do (or at least getting worse or more expensive service) and age verification.
I was taught in Elementary/Kindergarten.
I had the privilege of being taught information security, programming, and OPSEC in a private school that no longer exists.
See you at school board meetings.
- 11 days
Yea I mean, a Discord like that, assume it is compromised. It sucks. It really sucks. But yeah.
- stoy@lemmy.zipEnglish11 days
This is not a Discord issue specifically, a mole could also have infiltrated a chat on other platforms as well.
This is a human issue first, a tech issue second
- 11 days
Fully agree. The bar to enter is very, very low and even then, do you trust everyone in there
Anyway. Whoever the mole is, they’re a scab and they should be dealt with accordingly.
- sportsjorts@lemmy.zipEnglish11 days
I’ll wait 100 years till it comes out on gamepass. People who don’t play games keep talking to me about GTA6 and I don’t know what to say because I don’t care. Rockstar can forever eat my asd for not making red dead 2 zombies or multiplayer cool.
- bigmamoth@lemmy.worldEnglish10 days
I want rockstar to miserably fail gta6 Not for union busting Cause rockstar make wokke trash So yeah boycott that shit
- bigmamoth@lemmy.worldEnglish10 days
More woke and studio closing that s why they canabalize IP too big to fail
Why repost this? It was posted so many times when it was news about two weeks ago and the whole week after.
- 4am@lemmy.zipEnglish11 days
Because this feed is for everyone not just you so you are allowed to just skip the threads if you have already heard the news there’s no fucking perfect attendance award, sweaty
