Veteran Red Dead Redemption and GTA writer leaves Rockstar Games after 16 years

The three playable characters having an exchange in GTA 5
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Rockstar Games’ vice president of writing, Mike Unsworth, has seemingly left the Grand Theft Auto developer. 

After 16 years working at the storied studio, Unsworth had writing credits on several massive hits, including crime bonanzas Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5, western epics Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, murder mystery LA Noire, and detective threequel Max Payne 3. Unsworth began working for Rockstar as a senior creative writer in 2007, before being promoted to writing director in 2019, and then switching to the vice president of writing position in 2021. 

Originally spotted by GTAForums user Rucke and later reposted by Rockstar news Twitter account SWEGTA, Unsworth seems to have announced their leaving on LinkedIn. The writer didn’t post about their reasons for departing, what the future holds, or what the writing progress on Grand Theft Auto 6 looks like. But Unsworth was one of three credited writers on Rockstar’s last new release, 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2, alongside the studio’s co-founder Dan Houser, who has also since left the company

The last time we heard an update on the much-anticipated GTA 6 was after the game’s infamous (and shockingly extensive) leaks. Rockstar released a statement shortly after the leaks to confirm that a hacker had in fact stolen pre-release footage from the open world shooter. It seems the unprecedented leaks didn’t have an effect on the game’s production timeline, though, as a recent report claimed the game was expected to release in 2025. We’ll see what the writer’s table for GTA 6 looks like come launch. 

For now, here’s everything we know about Grand Theft Auto 6. There’s a surprising amount of info floating around out there.

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.