The rise of unions in the video games industry has been a hot topic over the past decade, as more and more workers seek protection for their rights in the face of harsh working conditions and management shortcomings around the world.
Not only have a large number of games-specific unions formed in a relatively short amount of time, but these unions have already demonstrated their value for members. SAG-AFTRA went on strike to secure improved pay and AI protections for video games voice actors, ZeniMax workers have marched out over disagreements around remote work and outsourcing, and union-organised protests have been held outside the premises of Rockstar Games, Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Riot Games, and Build A Rocket Boy (to name but a few).
It’s a trend that shows every sign of continuing, and working successfully with unions has become increasingly important in games workplaces – in fact, we’ll be discussing this topic deeper at our upcoming HR Summit on October 1. It reflects a new reality in the industry, after years in which union discussions were all but non-existent.
“When Game Workers Unite launched eight years ago, there were hardly any unions or game workers in unions,” says Austin Kelmore, co-founder of the IWGB Game Workers and Game Worker Solidarity. “Since then, workers in more than 130 distinct groups and unions in over 15 countries have organized together to win real improvements in their workplaces. The conversation has shifted from ‘Should the games industry unionize?’ to ‘Which workers are going to unionize next?’
“We are making our voices heard and winning big in the process. We still have a long way to go to fully unionize the games industry, but we’ve made an incredible amount of progress in a relatively small amount of time.”
Marc Rutschlé, one of the union representatives of Solidaires Informatique at Ubisoft Paris, adds: “At Ubisoft, unions have largely progressed in the French studios. Five years ago, there were no unions inside the ‘Comité Social et Economique’ (the workers councils). Right now, unions are present in almost every Ubisoft company in France and some structures have several unions. This is pretty standard for a French company. It basically means the social dialogue at Ubisoft is becoming mature.
“Unfortunately, the rest of the French video games industry is completely collapsing. Almost every major studio has fallen into bankruptcy or is starting layoff plans. It’s hard to say what will happen in just one to two years.”
The Polish Gamedev Workers Union was formed just two years ago as part of a nationwide grassroots trade union, The Workers Initiative. Union member Artur Ganszyniec reports the organisation is officially established within ten Polish studios, which accounts for just half of its members, the rest working for various smaller companies.
“One of our main challenges is the legal framework governing trade unions in Poland – most of the laws were written in the ’80s and with heavy industry in mind, and they do not represent the realities of creative or remote work,” Ganszyniec explains. “The law is also written in favour of the employers, severely limiting the role of the unions.”
Nonetheless, the Polish Gamedev Workers Union has already been able to represent employees during layoffs, offered legal aid, helped people navigate the complexities of Polish labor law, negotiated workplace regulations, and offered an informal support network for members.
These are just some examples of what unions have been able to accomplish. Kelmore adds that workers in games unions around the world have managed to secure four-day work weeks, pay increases, hybrid and remote working arrangements, AI protections, contractual bonuses, six-hour work days, and more. Unions have also helped reduce the number of people laid off, stopped harassment, and won millions of dollars for mistreated workers.
“My own boss tried to discipline me and I was able to successfully get it dismissed,” Kelmore adds. “I have worked with coworkers to secure better redundancy terms for those affected and those who stayed behind.
“In addition to working and material conditions, workers in unions have learned they have the power to collectively effect change in their workplaces and the world at large. It may sound cheesy, but once people experience for themselves the process of creating change, they will never forget it. That will help them push for change inside and outside of the workplace.”
More importantly, unions have not only been able to change the lives of the staff they represent, but also had a significant impact on the companies they’re negotiating with.
“Early on, a large portion of our casework was teaching people who ran companies what the law is and forcing them to follow it,” says Kelmore. “This meant companies had to learn how to properly follow disciplinary, grievance, and redundancy procedures. They had to accommodate disabilities and neurodiverse staff in the ways that are legally mandated. They had to learn the workers know more about the law than they do and the workers were willing to enforce it.
“As unions become larger and workers have built more power, we’ve been able to apply pressure to those at the top and improve things in two ways: advocate and push for the things we want and stop harmful treatment from those who employ us. Microsoft has learned they have to engage with CWA in the US, as is evidenced by them agreeing to a contract this week with 1,900 workers at Blizzard where the workers won hybrid work and AI protections, recall rights if laid off, minimum severance above the industry standard, and up to 34% wage increases.
“Company executives are learning the more power workers build, the more they’re going to have to concede if they want the work done”
Rutschlé highlights AI protections as a particularly crucial topic, describing the technology as “the biggest enemy of video games right now.”
“Not only because of the creative nonsense,” he explains, “but because the industry is relying a lot on investments. In the last three to four years, the AI industry got these investments and that’s the reason studios are closing.
“The biggest impact of unions is to give a counterpoint to corporate communication”
Marc Rutschlé, Solidaires Informatique
“I’d say the biggest impact of unions is to give a counterpoint to corporate communication. When people listen to HR, the only thing they hear is ‘everything is fine, everything is perfect’ – which is generally complete bullshit. Unions are the people you go talk to when something bad happens.”
Looking ahead, games unions still face a lot of barriers – some general, some region-specific. Gansyniec tells us that in Poland, for example, the default form of employment covered and protected by labor laws is being quietly replaced with various civil contracts. Approximately 40% of Polish game developers operate as ‘one-person companies’ providing services to the studios they work in; by doing so, they earn a little more money but they relinquish any employee protection and privileges, such as paid sick leave, notice period, and so on.
“Such solutions border on illegal – or sometimes just are – but proving it in court is not easy, so we try to educate both game developers and companies about the consequences of each solution,” he says.
“The other problem is, that for historical reasons trade unions are not really popular in Poland, and we face strong opposition from some of the companies, who waste significant sums in legal fees suing the union to stall cooperation. As such, not many workers are interested in joining.”
Rutschlé adds that, even with unions’ initial successes, a lot of games workers are fearful of management retaliation. Kelmore, meanwhile, says that unions still struggle against misconceptions out there around whether organising workers is good or bad, when in fact it is neither.
“Unions are an organisational container filled with people and people are messy and complicated. People make decisions that don’t make sense, people make mistakes, people have conflicts with each other, and people learn and grow. I believe in unions not because I believe they’re inherently good, but because I believe in the value of everyday working people. Unions are what we make them and they’re always a work in progress.”
With so many unions now established across the industry, and more in the works, these representatives all argue that such efforts can be even more effective in protecting workers.
“Personally, I think the legal and economical systems in any industry – including gamedev – heavily favour the companies’ side, and employees need to organise and create a counterbalance,” says Ganszyniec. “Most of the know-how, silent knowledge, and understanding how the industry works and how games are made is spread among the specialists who do the work.
“To protect that knowledge, we need to address the issue of working conditions and salaries, workshop solutions around layoffs, provide a platform for sharing knowledge, and create support networks to keep the experienced developers in the industry and help them pass their know-how to the juniors.”
“It means having more experienced and more diversified workers – and that leads to better games”
Marc Rutschlé, Solidaires Informatique
Kelmore agrees: “Unions sharing knowledge and experience with other workers across unions and borders helps us all win more and faster. With their permission, I’ve taken training from multiple unions that aren’t my own. I’ve shared and received detailed documents with other unions that move us closer to our goals. We’ve had multiple worldwide conferences with many different unions present to learn and collaborate with each other. Workers in the US, Canada, and France held protests outside Take-Two on behalf of workers halfway across the world in the UK. What we do with and for each other matters and builds us all up.”
Rutschlé concludes that unions securing better and healthier working conditions, whether alone or in collaboration with other unions, can only benefit the industry as a whole.
“It will reduce the turnover, attract other people beyond the standard yound-cis-white-male engineer, etc,” he says. “In the end, it means having more experienced and more diversified workers – and that leads to better games.”
The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, returning to London on October 1st with a focus on People & Leadership, includes two sessions dedicated to guidance and best practice for how HR and people professionals can productively engage with trade unions. Tickets are available here.