GTA 6 Labor Lawsuit Hearing: HR Head Says Work-Hour Discussions Could Leak Business Secrets

Charlie Kinloch, Lincoln's head of HR and co-head of studio operations on GTA6, said during a labor lawsuit hearing that employees discussing working hours, overtime, and internal company operations could harm the game if made public ahead of major GTA6 business announcements. On October 9, he was questioned about a source who allegedly provided him with screenshots of an employee Discord group. The lawsuit between Rockstar and the IWGB is still being heard.

The lawsuit involves more than 30 employees dismissed from GTA6 in October 2025, with the dismissals taking place across multiple offices in the UK and Canada. Those affected were union members or were attempting to organize a union. The union subsequently filed a legal complaint, and the two sides dispute the reasons for the dismissals and the information shared within the employee group.

Kinloch said he had little interest in which employees specifically discussed joining the union, and was more concerned with content such as working hours, overtime, and internal company operations. He believed that if this information entered the public domain, it could give outsiders a glimpse into the next stages of GTA6's development. The growth of the employee group and the inability to verify the identities of some new members also heightened his concerns about information leaking out. He also suggested that as the game approached release, people with inside information could profit from leaks.

The above is Kinloch's account at the hearing; the court has not determined that employee discussions constituted a leak, nor that anyone sold information. The two sides still dispute the source of the information and the timing of the company's actions, and the hearing is ongoing.