The full merits hearing in Garland and ors v Rockstar Games UK Limited (Case No. 4104294/2025 and ors) began on 10 September 2026. Thomas Cordrey and Harry Sheehan are instructed as counsel for Rockstar Games, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto series of video games.

The proceedings concern the dismissal of 34 employees over the course of two days in October 2025. The case for Rockstar Games is that the Claimants were fairly dismissed for gross misconduct, specifically for posts on a Discord server that were disparaging and/or contained confidential information. The case for the Claimants is that they were unfairly dismissed because they were trade union members, because they participated in the activities of an independent trade union, or because their dismissal was in relation to a prohibited ‘blacklist’.

The hearing is listed for six-weeks at Glasgow Employment Tribunal. Thomas and Harry are instructed by Tarun Tawakley of Lewis Silkin LLP.

These high-profile proceedings have attracted a great deal of media attention. The first two days of the hearing last week was reported by inter alia the BBC, The Guardian, The Times, and Sky News.