United Kingdom, Jan. 13 -- A UK employment tribunal has rejected an application for interim relief brought by former developers working on Grand Theft Auto VI, backing Rockstar Games' insistence that recent dismissals were justified and unrelated to union activity.

The Glasgow Employment Tribunal ruled that the high legal threshold for interim relief had not been met, meaning the 34 dismissed staff will not be temporarily reinstated or returned to payroll while they await a full hearing.

Responding to the decision, Rockstar said it "welcomed" the outcome and reiterated its position.

The company said in a statement: "We regret that we were put in a position where dismissals were necessary, but we stand by our course of action as support...