Rockstar Games Faces Accusations Ahead of GTA VI LaunchRockstar Games is facing some serious accusations right now, and it’s a big deal for the industry, especially with GTA VI pre-orders opening on June 25, 2026, and the global release set for November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The standard edition is $79.99 and an Ultimate Edition is $99.99. The company, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, is accused of enabling crunch and not fixing a gender pay gap and using bonuses to control people.## Crunch Culture AllegationsThree members of the Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU) spoke to Game Developer and they stayed anonymous because they were afraid of getting in trouble. They said Rockstar tries to make crunch seem normal.

One source said crunch is so common that it’s in their contracts, like a standard thing, where you opt out of the UK Working Time Regulations. This regulation usually stops employers from asking for more than about 10 extra hours a week. But at Rockstar, employees have to opt back in to avoid working excessive overtime. Some teams at Rockstar are always crunching, and other teams don’t even realize it’s happening elsewhere in the company. There are reports from Glassdoor, from May 2026, that Rockstar India employees are working overtime without pay, trying to finish tasks that usually take 5-6 months in just 2-3 months.

Some people are working until 3 AM after their regular shifts. A QA analyst mentioned the work schedule has been hectic since last month and it’s taking a toll on mental health.## The Widening Gender Pay GapThe gender pay gap is another big problem, and union members say the gap between median wages for different genders has actually gotten wider at Rockstar. Initiatives that were supposed to fix this imbalance have been scrapped. For Rockstar Games UK Limited, specifically, the 2025-26 Gender Pay Gap Report showed women earned 81p for every £1 that men earned, when comparing median hourly pay.

Women also made up only 11.8% of employees in the highest paid quarter, but 24.5% in the lowest paid quarter. And women’s median bonus pay was 22.2% lower than men’s. That means they earned 78p for every £1 men earned in bonuses.## Opaque Bonus StructuresBonuses are a huge part of the compensation package for most employees, and they can change a lot, often without a clear reason. One source said the reasoning for bonus amounts is often vague and inconsistent, even within the same department and between team members.

It can even be based on subjective or retroactive criticisms. Employees feel like they have to be super flexible to their boss’s demands because a fifth of their salary could be withheld without justification. This lack of transparency means workers’ compensation can fall below the market rate compared to other companies in the industry.## Take-Two Interactive’s ResponseTake-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, said they foster a culture of teamwork and kindness, and they support employees with competitive compensation. They also said their employee retention is above the industry standard.

They received a request from a union for voluntary recognition and will meet to discuss it.## The Financial PerspectiveI mean, how can a company that makes billions from games like GTA Online, and is about to drop GTA VI, still have these issues? My TTWO trade, I bought 100 shares at $150.00 on December 15, 2023, and I’m holding until after the first full quarter sales report for GTA VI, looking for a significant bump. The stock is currently trading around $255.08, so that’s good for me, but you have to wonder about the human cost of all this. The company’s stock has traded between $187.63 and $264.79 over the past 52 weeks.

It’s a high-stakes game for big boys only, as the Take-Two boss said, but I’m cool with it.