Author: Game Infliction

‘Grand Theft Employment!’ — Protests Outside Take-Two and Rockstar North Offices as Fired Staff Deny Leaking Company Secrets

Fired Rockstar Games staff have protested outside the UK offices of parent company Take-Two and developer Rockstar North, denying accusations of leaking company secrets and calling for their reinstatement.

Gatherings organized by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) were held outside Take-Two House in London and Rockstar’s office at Barclay House in Edinburgh, Scotland today, November 6, after up to 40 staff were fired for allegedly “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum.”

Clips of the protests published to social media show heavy criticism of Take-Two and Rockstar’s actions, with fired staff holding signs and reading prepared statements calling for their reinstatement and back pay compensation.

Last week, the Grand Theft Auto 6 studio reportedly fired between 30 and 40 employees in a move that the IWGB claimed was “blatant” and “ruthless” union busting. At the time, Rockstar parent company Take-Two issued a statement insisting the firings were for “gross misconduct, and for no other reason.”

According to Bloomberg, the fired workers were all UK and Canadian employees who were also part of a private trade union chat group on Discord, and were either union members themselves or trying to organize a union within Rockstar. The IWGB claimed the staff were fired explicitly due to union activities.

A new Bloomberg report carried a fresh statement from Take-Two, in which the company insisted the fired staff had leaked company secrets in a “public forum.”

“Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies,” the Take-Two statement read. “This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”

According to the IWGB, the only non-Rockstar people inside the private union Discord were union organizers. IWGB boss Alex Marshall issued IGN the following statement:

“Rockstar continue to deflect from the real reason for these dismissals: they are afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice. Management are showing they don’t care about delays to GTA 6, and that they’re prioritising union busting by targeting the very people who make the game.

“In recent years, Rockstar executives have benefited from £443 million in tax relief, while showing total disregard for the law or the livelihoods of their staff. At every turn, they’ve chosen profits over both workers and fans of their games.

“The only non Rockstar employees in the union Discord channel were union organisers.”

One fired member of staff protesting today said what had happened to them was “deeply unfair,” claiming they were dismissed “without warning, without evidence, and without a chance to speak for myself.”

The fired staff member continued: “All because I talked with colleagues in a private union chat. We weren’t leaking anything or trying to harm the company. We were supporting each other, trying to understand our workplace and make it better. To lose my job for that is deeply unfair. No-one should be punished for being part of a union or for speaking honestly about their work.”

Ross Greer, co-leader of the Scottish Greens political party and MSP for the West of Scotland, took to social media to back the protests, saying: “Reinstate them now, then get around the table and give your staff the pay and conditions they deserve for making you billions.”

The protests come ahead of the expected release of GTA 6 in May next year. While limiting its pre-release marketing to just two trailers and a series of screenshots so far, Rockstar has put a focus on security after suffering a massive leak of the in-development GTA 6 in 2022, and the day-early release of GTA 6 Trailer 1 the following year. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick called the 2022 leak “terribly unfortunate… and we take those sorts of incidents very seriously indeed.”

He added: “There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort, but it is terribly disappointing and causes us to be ever more vigilant on matters relating to cybersecurity.”

Last year, the studio asked employees to come to the office five days a week, citing a desire for both increased productivity and security. The decision was criticized by workers affiliated with the IWGB, who said Rockstar broke promises with the forced return to office, and accused the studio of refusing to engage with workers on the issue.

Image credit: Ross Greer / Twitter.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

As Rockstar accuse fired staff of leaking secrets, unions launch street protests against publisher Take-Two

Last week, GTA 6 developers Rockstar Games suddenly fired around 30 UK-based workers on a charge of “gross misconduct”. According to the UK’s IWGB Game Workers Union, the firings are in fact retaliation against staff for attempting to unionise, as is their right under UK law. They called it “the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry.”

This week, Rockstar pushed back against these claims in a new statement to Bloomberg, accusing the fired employees of sharing “confidential information on a public forum”. The IWGB insist, however, that the “public forum” alluded to was just a private Discord channel for IWGB members and Rockstar developers to discuss working conditions and unionisation efforts, and that no confidential information was shared. The IWGB have also organised gatherings across the UK to show solidarity for the affected Rockstar staff. This morning, I attended one such gathering – a protest outside Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive’s offices in London.

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New Gremlins Movie Confirmed With 2027 Release Date

Warner Bros. Discovery has announced a new Gremlins movie, due out in 2027.

During a financial call, David Zaslav, CEO and President of Warner Bros. Discovery, said the new Gremlins movie will launch on November 19, 2027, with Steven Spielberg involved as an executive producer.

Original Gremlins writer Chris Columbus returns to both direct and executive prodiuce this new entry in the series. Plot details and cast information remain under wraps.

Gremlins is a much-loved 1984 comedy horror movie written by Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, and Hoyt Axton. It tells the story of Billy Peltzer, who receives Gizmo the Mogwai as a pet as a Christmas present from his father. After getting wet, Gizmo spawns more Gremlins who go on to terrorize the fictional, snowy American town of Kingston Falls, Pennsylvania.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch followed in 1990, with Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates reprising their roles, this time with the Gremlins causing havoc in New York.

And that’s where the Gremlins movie series ends, with a prequel animated series coming out in 2023. Season 1, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, is set in 1920s Shanghai, China, and tells the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing met Gizmo. Season 2, Gremlins: The Wild Batch, came out last year.

Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Battlefield 6 devs temporarily confiscate the Infantry Fighting Vehicle’s bugged lock-on missiles

Battlefield 6‘s Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which google reliably informs me is a vehicle that’s supposed to carry fighting infantry, rather than fight infantry itself, has had its lock-on missiles taken away for the next little bit. Some problems with countermeasures have rendered them far too effective at their job of blowing stuff up.

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‘This Is Brilliant’ – Battlefield 6 Players Flock to Giant Fan-Made Conquest Maps as Map Size Debate Rages On

The Battlefield 6 community has asked for bigger Conquest maps for months, so someone made their own – and they’re actually pretty popular.

Fans have spent the time since launch asking EA and Battlefield Studios for everything from aim assist tweaks to realistic skins, but few conversations have stolen the spotlight quite like the discussion around map sizes. While some players went to great lengths to determine if Battlefield 6 maps are as small as they look and others took to review-bombing, the more creative individuals are using Battlefield Portal and REDSEC to make larger maps of their own.

Two New BR Maps with Three Conquest Gamemodes!
byu/kurtinthegrind inBattlefield

Thanks to work from Reddit users kurtinthegrind and andy_6170 (a.k.a. ViperAndyStudios), the Battlefield 6 community now has Club House, a large-scale Conquest play area that pulls elements from REDSEC’s Southern California-set Fort Lyndon map for an (unofficial) version of the kind of wide-open spaces they’ve been asking for. There are also Tech Center and Operation Tech Center map options, with the former set up as a large-scale, infantry-focused Conquest map, while the latter offers linear gameplay centered around one main building.

“The credit to the original version of Tech Center and the Conquest Script belongs to Andy,” kurtinthegrind says, “though I’ve made a few modifications to them.

“Club House and the smaller version of Tech Center are my creations, and honestly, I’m not too proud of them. But until Ripple Effect/Battlefield Studios provides improved Portal support and releases ALL parts of Battle Royale map, these will have to suffice.”

Both bot and bot-less versions of the Club House and Tech Center maps are currently available for players to create servers, but it’s Club House that’s attracting the most attention online. In the middle of a Wednesday, the map, also known as Golf Course, boasts a few hundred active players across different server browsers in Battlefield 6, with some 64-player servers populated almost entirely with real people.

We played a few matches on Club House and noticed that, even with around 30 players on each team, combat encounters feel spread out, with infantry required to sprint long distances to reach each Conquest objective without redeploying. Everything from small vehicles like golf carts to attack helicopters and tanks can help with travel, too, with above-average ticket sizes and a relatively large play area resulting in more room for vehicle warfare and lengthy matches.

“This is brilliant,” one popular comment says. “Fingers crossed they actually put these on the official map rotation. For now, I’ll just mess around with my squad.”

It’s certainly a change of pace when compared to other, standard Conquest maps, and it’s an experience those playing on Club House seem to enjoy. Our short time with real-world players saw the in-game chat filled with comments praising the map for its long, clear sightlines and vehicular combat potential.

Fingers crossed they actually put these on the official map rotation. For now, I’ll just mess around with my squad.

Portal game modes – Club House Conquest included – have dedicated fans, even if a modified XP rate means significantly slower progression for all. One Battlefield 6 player took to Reddit after trying the mode for themselves, saying, “for the first time, I felt like I could breathe in this game.”

“There are too many small, cramped, and poorly designed maps in this game, and I never had much opportunity to play normally without constantly confronting opponents in narrow alleys or buildings,” the popular post says.

“I think there should be maps like in BF3/4, small, medium, but also large – I know I haven’t discovered anything new, everyone has been saying this since the game’s release, but we need to keep talking about it until we finally get some comment on the matter.”

While some have already begun calling for these fan-made maps to join official Battlefield 6 playlists, others argue the emergeance of Club House and other similarly large Conquest maps only serve as proof that Portal is working just as the developers intended. For now, it’s unclear if Portal experiences like this could get a bigger spotlight from BF Studios.

Although BF Studios has yet to confirm just how big future Battlefield 6 maps will be, we do know that much, much more is on the way. The first post-launch map, Blackwell Fields, was met with criticism from fans, but another new map called Eastwood is just weeks away. Both locations are included as part of Season 1, with more content set to follow in the months ahead as future seasons roll out.

For more on Battlefield 6 and REDSEC, you can read IGN’s REDSEC review in progress. You can also check out the recently discovered hidden room in the firing range, as well as a recent change to challenges that will make some milestones a bit easier to reach. If you’re interested in trying out any of these Portal maps for yourself, you can head to the in-game community tab, select “Search Experiences,” and input the experience codes below.

Battlefield 6 Portal Experience Codes

  • Conquest Club House: z2wxc
  • Conquest Club House (Bots): z3cp6
  • Infantry Conquest Large Tech Center: z2tfr
  • Infantry Conquest Large Tech Center (Bots): z4ycg
  • Infantry Conquest “Operation” Tech Center: z36s8
  • Infantry Conquest “Operation” Tech Center (Bots): z3ey8

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ backlash reportedly corporately canonised by Ubisoft as a victory for being “more of a video game than a message”

Ubisoft have reportedly offered a corporate spin on the backlash Assassin’s Creed Shadows faced from right-wing grifters prior to release, with CEO Yves Guillemot framing it as “a battle with our fans, to demonstrate that we were, in fact, more of a video game than a message”. The company also seem to be trying to canonise the events as some kind of masterful marketing victory, which arguably isn’t too surprising, even if the fact they’re not trying to pretend the controversy never happened is.

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Guide: Kirby Air Riders Global Test Ride Times – When Is The Online Demo Happening?

Start your engines.

The second Kirby Air Riders Direct wrapped up with the announcement of a ‘Global Test Ride’ demo, speeding onto Switch 2 throughout November.

In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the free online tasters, including when they are happening, what you’ll be able to play, and how to get involved.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

MonsterVerze Codes (November 2025)

MonsterVerze is a Roblox experience that revolves around fashion, where the afterlife gives you a second chance to serve looks. After suffering an unfortunate accident, you’ll be able to travel around the MonsterVerze from the Graveyard to the Train Station and Eerie High.

Along the way, you’ll dress up and customize your character, meaning you’ll want Ghoulars to spend in the shop. You can pick up Ghoulars while you’re running around, but we’ve also got MonsterVerze codes that you can use to boost your stacks of Ghoulars.

Working MonsterVerze Codes

The following codes have been tested and can be redeemed:

  • WEAREBACK – Free Item (NEW)
  • MVHOMECOMING – Homecoming Balloons, Opal Plushie, 6,000 Ghoulars
  • MV1MILLION – Shattered Love Crown
  • BUGFIXES02 – 10,000 Ghoulars

How to Use MonsterVerze Codes

Launch MonsterVerze and then follow these steps to redeem codes:

  1. Press Play and get into the MonsterVerze
  2. Click on the Coffin icon on the right side of the screen
  3. Then click on Settings at the bottom of the coffin
  4. Copy the code from this article into the Enter Code… box and
  5. Press Redeem

Expired MonsterVerze Codes

MonsterVerze has just entered its beta, so there are no expired codes at the moment! Be sure to use the codes in the working section before they disappear.

Why Isn’t My MonsterVerze Code Working?

Codes for Roblox experiences are usually case-sensitive, so the best way to ensure you’ve got a working code is to directly copy it from this article. We check all codes before we upload them, so you can guarantee they’re working. Just double-check that you haven’t copied over an extra space!

When Is the Next MonsterVerze Update?

MonsterVerze updates every week, on a Sunday. For now, there are no special planned events but we’ll be sure to update this article if that changes. The Sunday updates are currently designed to address any bugs and improve quality of life features.

Lauren Harper is an Associate Guides Editor. She loves a variety of games but is especially fond of puzzles, horrors, and point-and-click adventures.

Football Manager 26 subs in a big beta patch with over 300 fixes and improvements, following polarising launch

Oi, gaffer! I know you’re busy trying to work out the exact moment at which we should park the bus and start unleashing the long throw-ins, but you’ll probably want to know about the chunky patch Football Manager 26 devs Sports Interactive have released into Steam beta. It’s aimed at fixing a lit of the initial issues which’ve been causing ire since release earlier this week.

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Pokémon Legends: Z-A Gets First Post-Launch Patch, Adjusting Rank Battle Balance And More

There’s a new patch today for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which makes adjustments to its ranked battles and fixes a number of bugs.

Version 1.0.2 of the newly-released Pokémon adventure is available to download now on both Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, following the game’s arrival last month.

While there are no new major features included within the update, a couple of adjustments here may prove useful as players continue to participate in ranked battles over the coming weeks and months in order to obtain the mode’s exclusive Mega Stone rewards.

Last week, The Pokemon Company revealed that these Mega Stone rewards — which unlock access to Mega Greninja, Mega Delphox and Mega Chesnaught — would be easier to obtain, beginning with the start of ranked battle mode’s Season 2.

Today’s update adjusts the number of points earned based on ranking so “that points are not reduced depending on the outcome of the match.” Rather vaguely, there’s also mention that “some battle rewards that can be received for each battle have been added and increased.”

A selection of bug fixes are also included, tied to Mega Evolutions, side missions and “some other issues” — the full details of which can be found in the official patch notes below.

Pokémon Legends Z-A – Version 1.0.2 (November 6, 2025) patch notes:

The following bugs have been fixed:

  • If you have not opened the box screen since the box was full before the first Mega Evolution battle, you will definitely fail to capture a Pokemon. Also, if you proceed with a side mission that allows you to obtain a Pokemon in that state, you will not be able to complete it.
  • In some side missions, if the day/night change occurs at the same time that a skill is hit on a target, it will no longer be possible to hit the target with a skill, and the side mission will no longer be able to progress.
  • During a trainer battle, if the opposing trainer switches Pokemon and the player simultaneously Mega Evolves, the opposing trainer will not be able to send out a Pokemon and will be unable to proceed.
  • Fixed some other issues.

Rank Battle Balance Adjustments:

  • Adjustment of points earned based on ranking so that points are not reduced depending on the outcome of the match.
  • Some battle rewards that can be received for each battle have been added and increased.

*The latest update data is required to play online features.
*Local communication is not compatible with previous versions. Please make sure that you and the people you play with have the same update data version.

It’s worth noting that today, November 6, Nintendo is due to reveal more information on Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC, via a trailer that’s set to go live at 9am Eastern / 6am Pacific / 2pm UK time. Perhaps there’s more hidden in today’s update that’s tied to that?

Since launch, Pokémon Legends: Z-A has gone on to sell almost 6 million copies in its first week, and has been getting a generally warm reception from fans. The adventure “finally feels like Game Freak hitting its stride in Pokemon’s 3D era, with a fun setting to explore, a well-written story, and a total battle system overhaul that works surprisingly well,” IGN wrote in our Pokémon Legends: Z-A review.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social