🚨 GTA 6 COURTROOM CARNAGE: Rockstar’s FIRED DEVS UNLEASHED – 32-PLAYER ONLINE LEAK EXPLODES as JUDGE CRUSHES PAYBACK PLEA! 😱 Union Busting or Leakpocalypse? TOP-SECRET Wasteland SECRETS SPILL… Is GTA 6 DOOMED Before Launch?! 💥⚖️ They Tried to HIDE This – READ NOW Before DELETE! 👇

The high-stakes legal brawl between Rockstar Games and a cadre of fired Grand Theft Auto 6 developers has taken a dramatic turn, with a UK tribunal rejecting demands for back pay while inadvertently spilling what could be the first concrete detail on GTA 6‘s multiplayer mode. Just weeks after Rockstar touted its “zero-tolerance” leak policy, court documents from the ongoing union dispute have fans buzzing over a purported 32-player online lobby – a feature Rockstar lawyers branded “top secret.”

The saga erupted in late October 2025 when Rockstar abruptly dismissed 34 employees – 31 in the UK and three in Canada – citing “gross misconduct” for allegedly leaking sensitive GTA 6 details in a private Discord server run by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB). The channel, with around 350 members including current and former staff, became ground zero for what Rockstar called a security nightmare: discussions of game features, development timelines, progress updates, and even IT protocols.

The Firings: Discord Drama Ignites Mass Sackings

Rockstar’s HR dove into the fray after employees vented frustrations over tightened leave policies amid crunch time for the long-awaited open-world juggernaut. Messages ranged from gripes about denied time off to specifics on testing challenges – including a bombshell reference to organizing “large sessions” capped at 32 players, which QA teams struggled to fill due to staffing limits. One dev quipped about the difficulty, prompting a sarcastic reply questioning why multiple studios couldn’t muster enough testers.

The studio, owned by Take-Two Interactive, viewed these chats as leaks to outsiders – including a game journalist and rival developer – risking competitive edges and stock dips. A prior GTA 6 delay announcement in May 2025 had already tanked Take-Two shares by $3.75 billion in a day, heightening paranoia. Rockstar accessed the server covertly, impersonating staff in one instance, and fired the lot without initial disciplinary hearings or appeals – procedural lapses the union pounced on.

IWGB cried foul, filing claims of trade union victimization, blacklisting, and busting. “Rockstar’s calculated attempt to crush a union,” fumed union president Alex Marshall. They argued no actual leaks hit the public, just internal venting among peers.

Tribunal Throwdown: Judge Sides with Rockstar – For Now

Fast-forward to early January 2026: A two-day preliminary hearing at Glasgow’s Employment Tribunal tested IWGB’s plea for “interim relief” – emergency back pay and visa reinstatement for the visa-dependent devs facing deportation risks. Judge Frances Eccles delivered the blow on January 12: Denied. She ruled it “unlikely” union membership drove the sackings, citing the non-union Canadians and lack of proven harm from the posts.

Rockstar rejoiced: “We regret that we were put in a position where dismissals were necessary, but we stand by our course of action as supported by the outcome of this hearing.” Lawyers even refused to utter the “top-secret” 32-player detail aloud, handing docs to the judge privately – but reporters glimpsed them anyway, courtesy of no reporting restrictions.

Union reps remained defiant: “This ruling… does nothing to dampen our hopes of winning justice when the full hearing takes place,” per IWGB spokesperson Jake Thomas. They called Rockstar’s defense “flimsy,” spotlighting broken protocols like skipped investigations. A full merits hearing looms, potentially dragging into 2026 – as GTA 6 eyes its November 19 console debut.

Leaked Gold: 32-Player Lobbies and Beyond

The real fireworks? That multiplayer nugget. Rockstar slammed the Discord chatter as exposing “highly confidential… features of an unannounced online service.” It echoes GTA Online‘s longstanding 32-player cap (up from 30 post-2013 updates), but fans speculate bigger for GTA 6 – rumors of 64-96 players dashed?

Separate filings validated older leaks: Rockstar admitted firing devs in November 2023 (US), April 2025 (UK Lincoln – leaked to social media), and November 2025 (India) for spills to influencers. These corroborated 2023/2025 rumors like 700+ enterable interiors, weight mechanics, 6-star wanted levels, and Vice City’s massive scale. One sacked dev got the axe over a innocuous “Nothing that I’ve heard in North QA!” update.

Rockstar’s Leak Lockdown Legacy

This isn’t Rockstar’s first rodeo. The studio’s fortress mentality stems from mega-hits like GTA V ($8.6B+ revenue) and Red Dead Redemption 2. Leaks could torpedo hype – or stocks. UK PM Keir Starmer flagged the case “deeply concerning” in December 2025, prompting parliamentary probes.

X Erupts: Fans Split on Heroes and Villains

Social media’s a wasteland warzone. @GTAonlineNews hailed the docs: “Rockstar’s legal team… refused to have the evidence shown in court… now it is being published 👀.” @SYACVG crowed: “GTA 6’s online mode will support at least 32 players according to court docs.” Skeptics like @kiwitalkz warned: “Rockstar don’t play when it comes to security.”

IWGB backers decried “ruthless” tactics; Rockstar diehards cheered leak-crushers. Memes flew: Devs as “wanted” criminals in Vice City.

A Silver Lining: Terminally Ill Fan Gets Early Access?

Amid the mudslinging, heartstrings tugged. Reports emerged Rockstar granted a dying fan – spotlighted by Ubisoft kin on LinkedIn – preview playtime, echoing a RDR2 precedent. Posts like @SucumbaGames’ went viral: “A Rockstar deu acesso antecipado ao GTA 6 para um fã com Câncer Terminal.” Rockstar stayed mum, but the gesture contrasts the courtroom coldness.

Stakes Sky-High: Release, Reputations, and Reckoning

With GTA 6 – teased in a record-shattering 2023 trailer – primed for PS5/Xbox Series fall launch, distractions sting. Dev morale? Shaky amid crunch whispers. Take-Two’s empire ($1B+ quarterly from GTA Online) demands perfection, but lawsuits spotlight tensions.

The full tribunal could vindicate devs or affirm Rockstar’s iron fist. As one X user quipped: “Mission failed? We’ll get ’em next time.” Vice City’s calling – but who’s surviving the chaos?