One of Rockstar Games’ most senior figures has strongly denied its president Sam Houser ever “screamed” at staff at the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) VI developer.
Giving evidence at an ongoing employment tribunal, the games developer’s head of licensing, Jennifer Kolbe, rejected the allegation put to her by a lawyer representing a group of workers who were dismissed from the company.
Harry Stratton, who is representing the claimants, asked if employees at Rockstar were “scared” of president and co-founder Mr Houser, saying he “goes into these screaming rages”.
This question prompted a very quick intervention from Rockstar’s lawyer, Thomas Cordrey, who called the question “completely inappropriate” and “unprofessional”.
Some 34 Rockstar employees were dismissed in October last year (Jane Barlow/PA)
PA Wire
Ms Kolbe disputed the allegation made about Mr Houser.
She told the tribunal: “That does not happen. Sam does not scream at anyone.”
Some 34 people are believed to have been dismissed from Rockstar in October last year across the UK and Canada over what the company described as “the sharing of confidential company information”.
Twenty-three of them are currently taking part in an employment tribunal, claiming they were unfairly dismissed for trade union activities.
They are being represented at the tribunal in Glasgow by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB).
Rockstar has said it will vigorously contest the tribunal and accused the former employees of breaching the company’s confidentiality rules by discussing sensitive information on a Discord server which had hundreds of members and contained “disparaging” comments.
Ms Kolbe, who is the second most senior person at Rockstar, continued giving evidence on Friday.
Under questioning from IWGB lawyer Mr Stratton, Ms Kolbe discussed a Rockstar drinks party in the summer of 2025 where she spoke with Jordan Garland – a former Rockstar employee who is one of the claimants in the employment tribunal.
She said they had discussed a “very disparaging” post he made on LinkedIn about Xbox.
Ms Kolbe said she felt “really bad” when Mr Garland had told her he felt nervous.
After taking a brief pause in her evidence at the tribunal, Ms Kolbe went on to deny that she had discussed any potential disciplinary action against Mr Garland.
She said: “Out of the office I would never discuss disciplinary action.”
Ms Kolbe also said it was “absolutely untrue” to suggest she had known about the Discord server for years.
She went on to say that she has since had a number of meetings with IWGB representatives in recent months, describing them as reasonable.
Ms Kolbe said Rockstar was not anti-union.
She said the company had been clear to employees that there was not going to be a “crunch” – where long hours are worked – for GTA VI in the same way as with previous games.
The company’s Rockstar North studio is based in Edinburgh on Holyrood Road.
The employment tribunal continues before judge Lucy Wiseman, with closing submissions expected to take place in November.
A spokesperson for the video games developer said earlier: “Rockstar Games’ position has been clear and consistent throughout.
“Individuals across the UK and Canada were dismissed for gross misconduct following the sharing of confidential company information, not because of alleged trade union membership or activity.
“We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal.”