Game Worker Solidarity

@gameworkersolidarity.com

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Mapping and documenting collective movements by game workers striving to improve their working conditions. https://www.gameworkersolidarity.com/

The Gamer, GameXplain, and Prima Games put out statements that they would be ending or pausing reporting on content from Activision Blizzard or Ubisoft until action is taken on sexual harassment. Prima Games explained: "In light of recent reports regarding allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at Activision, Blizzard, and Ubisoft, Prima Games is putting a hard pause on coverage of all Activision, Blizzard, and Ubisoft content until further notice." Similarly, GameXplain stated: "In light of the horrific sexual harassment allegations brought against Activision Blizzard, we are suspending any and all coverage of Activision Blizzard games for the remainder of the year, and perhaps indefinitely, until the work culture has been demonstrably improved."

At least 20 workers at Activision Blizzard spoke out online after the company put out a statement responding to the sexual harassment lawsuit filed the day before. In addition, some World of Warcraft developers stopped work "in solidarity with the women that came forward."

Workers at the art and games studio Tender Claws voted 100% to form a union with CWA. Management at Tender Claws agreed to sign the voluntary recognition agreement, making it the 4th videogame company in North America to have a recognised union.

A lawsuit was filed in California against Activision Blizzard which included claims that workers have faced "constant sexual harassment, including groping, comments, and advances" involving a "frat boy workplace culture." There was a case of suicide which has been connected to the harassment at the company. The lawsuit follows a two year investigation, with multiple examples and complaints. It noted that women of color were "particularly vulnerable targets."

The French trade union Solidaires Informatique put out a public call for a collective lawsuit at Ubisoft. Following abuse and harassment allegations at the company, the union is asking workers to come forward to be part of the lawsuit.

A majority of 241 workers at Bethesda Game Studios vote to form a union with CODE CWA. Bethesda is part of Microsoft, which has signed a union neutrality agreement, so the union was immediately recognised.

This is the first wall-to-wall union at Microsoft, which includes everyone at a location whereas the other unions at microsoft focused on a specific discipline like QA.

Quality Assurance workers at Activision Blizzard who are located in Albany, New York vote to form a union with CODE-CWA. This is the second QA union to form at Activision Blizzard in the USA.

Solidaires Informatique sues Ubisoft for institutional sexual harassment on behalf of workers at Ubisoft. The complaints target the Ubisoft group as a legal person and several members of the leadership. The union is asking all people who have been victims of the Ubisoft group to join in on this collective action. They're calling on everyone interested (unionised or not) to contact them, whether to testify or to file a complaint.

On Amazon’s “Prime Day” workers in Germany and Minnesota, USA took strike action. Some videogame streamers on Twitch (which is owned by Amazon) boycotted the platform for the two days.
As Adam “Yoman5” Hernandez, a competitive Magic: The Gathering Streamer, explained to Kotaku: “I think it’s really simple to show solidarity to people who have it hard … A boycott in solidarity with the strike can hit Amazon in the only place they care: sales numbers.” Similarly, Josh Boykin explained: “Amazon workers have striked many times beyond Prime Day, but taking these two days off in particular helps give more attention to their collective action and is a small way I can help raise awareness to their efforts.”

A group of freelance workers involved with Lovestruck launched a strike at Voltage USA. The 21 writers formed Voltage Organized Workers and organised the strike. The workers, many of whom were members of marginalized genders and/or sexualities, were being made much less than industry standards on tight timelines. They demanded that Voltage USA recognise them and meet demands around better working conditions, greater transparency, and increased protections. The strike raised almost US$9,000 in donations and the petition was signed by 4,000 supporters. The 21-day strike was the successful game workers strike, resulting in pay increases (78% on average – with the largest individual pay rise of 94%) and improved transparency.

Workers at XLGames announced the creation of a new union, XL Reboot, under Kakao union (i.e., Crew Union), which is also under the chemical, textile and food industry division of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country's second-largest umbrella union. Workers at XL Games experienced project drops and laid-offs after Kakao games acquired XL Games as its subsidiary. The worker made the following demands: "Abolish inclusive wage system. Ensure job security. Improve flexible work system. Implement an attendance management system."

STJV workers from Ubisoft Paris created a union section, a public legal body giving workers representation and communication power at the company.

Several Kylotonn employees from their studio in Paris announced a strike to protest the studio's management. Workers from Spiders gave their support during the 2nd day of the strike on the 20th of July. Both studios were bought by Nacon and, since then, the workers' say their demands have been blocked because the "studios have to negotiate with Nacon" and nothing happens after. Their demands include: a remote work policy, negotiations over minimum wages, and improvement of working conditions.

Workers at Sega formed a union of over 200 members after winning their union election 91-26. The union, called AEGIS-CWA, is the largest multi-department union in the games industry in the US. It consists of workers from QA, Localization, Production, Marketing, Marketing Services, Licensing, and other departments.

Workers in Seattle formed a branch of Game Workers Unite.

Workers at Lionbridge Poland have unionsed with the Polish Gamedev Workers Union. Lionbridge Poland employs around 600 workers in Poland and is a branch of Lionbridge Technologies, one of the largest translation and localization companies in the world.

Workers organising at several escape rooms in the UK, including Locked in a Room, have formed the Escape Room Workers Union with the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). They have recently gone public, campaigning for better conditions and increased pay.

Cards Against Humanity workers unionise after report of racist and sexist culture becomes public. Workers call for Management voluntarily recognised the union.

Workers at Bethesda Game Studios Montreal, one of Bethesda's four studios, voted to unionise with CWA as One BGS MTL.

The first international conference for unionization and workers' rights in the game industry takes place in Berlin, Germany with participants from over 20 countries.

The first public game worker organising meeting in the UK

Workers organising with SAG-AFTRA reached a tentative agreement in the video game contract. The Interactive Media Contract will now be reviewed by the National Board. SAG-AFTRA workers have been on strike since 26th July 2024, and this tentative agreement would not immediately suspend the strike.

Workers organising with the TCGPlayer union secured an improved severance agreement with eBay and TCGPlayer following the closure of the Authentication Center. They collectively bargained for 20 weeks of severance pay (with an extra $2.50 per hour), six months of medical insurance, seven months of mental health benefits, and a $1,250 ratification bonus.

A strike by video game voice actors in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was called off after a new agreement reached. The bargaining agreement includes a 36% increase in minimum pay, with 25% implemented immediately, as well as increased benefits and protections.

All 16 QA workers at Bioware, contracted through Keywords Studios, vote to unionise and create KWS Edmonton United, a part of UFCW 401.

Workers at Vox Media, part of the Vox Media Union, stage a one-day walkout at the end of the last day of bargaining. The action effected the gaming website Polygon. Since Vox Media Union was recognised in January 2018 they have been attempting to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.

Workers at a GameStop store in Lincoln, Nebraska walked out over bad working conditions and an abusive district manager. Four workers decided to walk out, leaving a note that read: "We regret to inform you that we all quit", and the store was closed. One worker explained that this was the fourth walkout since August 2021, each in response to the same district manager.

Atari settles a lawsuit from 537 workers by paying the workers $600,000. Atari laid the workers off with no notice, which the glazer's union says was in response to their campaign to unionize the Atari workers.

Workers in Baltimore formed a branch of Game Workers Unite.

The Swedish unions Unionen and SACO signed a collective bargaining agreement with Paradox Interactive, a publisher and game developer. As part of the agreement, workers a Paradox can bargain over their pay, benefits, responsibilities, and more. The agreement covers all Paradox workers in Sweden.

Avalanche Studios and Unionen signed a collective agreement for one year. This covers occupational pensions, annual salary revisions, and paid sick and parental leave.

ZeniMax Workers United, part of CWA union, reached a tenative agreement with ZeniMax, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Representing 300 QA workers, this would be the first collective bargaining agreement in the US games industry. It follows the labour neutrality agreement signed between CWA and Microsoft.

The proposed agreement includes wage increases, minimum salaries, protections against dismissal, a grievance process, and formal recognition of QA workers contributions. There is also a framework for the use of AI.

“Workers in the video game industry are demonstrating once again that collective power works. This agreement shows what’s possible when workers stand together and refuse to accept the status quo,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. “Whether it’s having a say about the use of AI in the workplace, fighting for significant wage increases and fair crediting policies, or protecting workers from retaliation, our members have raised the bar. We’re proud to support them every step of the way.”

Gambrinous becomes the second employer in the games sector to sign up to the Financial Services Union living wage campaign. This follows Dreemfeel, who signed the pledge in October 2022. The FSU estimates 15% of staff in the games sector in Ireland are earning less than the living wage. As part of signing up, all Gambrinous employees and contractors will be paid the living wage as a minimum.

Players in the North American Player's Association vote to walk out after Riot Games removes a mandate for teams to fund an amateur team in the North American Challengers League. This change by Riot was made without consultation with the players.

This change could potentially affect up to 70 players, coaches, and managers.

An open letter, signed by 361 workers, called on Gamescom Latam to support independent games in Brazil. The festival grew out of Brazil's Independent Games Festival, is turning away from supporting independent games, with increased prices to participate.

After the strike authorization, the representatives from the Environment and Labor Committee (Noh, Woong-rae from the Democratic Party of Korea) and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Lee, Sang-heon from the Democratic Party of Korea) suggested two-weeks of concentrated bargaining between the labor and management. While the union decided to withhold the strike, the labor and the management agreed on a tentative agreement after four meetings (May 16th, 20th, 24th, and 27th) The agreement was passed in a vote by Webzen union members (May 28-29th). The specific details of the agreement were not exposed to the public.

Workers at Blizzard Entertainment SAS had joined unions including the CGT Fédération des Sociétés d'Études, Specis-UNSA, the CFE-CGC, and Solidaires Informatique, Union Syndicale Solidaires. Unions, including CGT Fédération des Sociétés d'Études and Solidaires Informatique, issued statements following proposals for layoffs.

A group of game worker unions in South Korea demanded an end to the comprehensive wage system. This is a system of wages that includes allowances for overtime and working at night that are paid as part of the salary. It is therefore difficult to receive payment for additional hours worked, leading to non-payment for crunch time.

Baesu-chan, the vice president of Nexon, said: “The abolition of the comprehensive wage system is the most urgent issue ... Although the comprehensive wage system has been abolished in large game companies, it is applied in a modified form in small and medium-sized enterprises or Nexon subsidiaries such as 'Mint Rocket,' which imposes a heavy burden on workers ... The previous government tried to expand flexible working hours while viewing the gaming industry differently, but in reality, even managing the recording of commuting hours for overtime pay has not been implemented.”

Workers in Australia formed a branch of Game Workers Unite.

Workers at Nintendo go on hunger strike to try to prevent factories being shut down and moved to another city. They were unsuccessful in this protest.

31 workers at Fusebox Games send an open letter to management about the problematic treatment of LGBT+ characters in the game.

Workers organising with Game Workers Alliance won a union vote at Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Following walkouts and a strike, workers filed for the union vote with support from CODE-CWA. They won with 19 votes out of 22, making this the second recognised union in the videogames industry in the USA.

The IGN Union proposed expanding their existing bargaining unit to include workers in product, engineering, and Humble Bundle. They called on IGN management to voluntarily recognise the addition to the unit

Workers at TCGplayer organising with CWA held a rally in New York. They have been trying to bargain with eBay (the parent company) but face a union-busting campaign. In response, workers organised a rally targetting Adriane Brown who is on the board of directors at eBay.

SAG-AFTRA files unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB against Llama studios. The studio makes Fortnite and used a digital replica of James Earl Jones to voice Darth Vader in the game without bargaining with the union.

In their statement, SAG-AFTRA explained: "Fortnite's signatory company, Llama Productions, chose to replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology ... Unfortunately, they did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms. As such, we have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB against Llama Productions."

IGN management removed an article supporting Palestinian charities without consulting the workers. In response, the workers draft and submit an open letter asking for it to be reinstated.

Workers in Montréal formed a branch of Game Workers Unite.

Almost 200 developers working on the Overwatch game have voted to form a union. The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA was formed with CWA, another union formed under the Microsoft labor neutrality agreement.

Workers at Eden Games, the studio making Test Drive Unlimited, took strike action over “mismanagements” by the owner Atari. A symbolic day of strike action was taken in opposition to Atari’s plan to restructure the studio in Lyon, making 51 out of the 80 employees redundant. In a statement sent to Gamasutra (later renamed to Game Developer), Atari explained that they do “not play the game of negotiations with employee representatives on the redundancy plan measures. Employee representatives of Eden until now have been extremely collaborative, respecting the very tight deadlines of the redundancy plan.” The strike was called “to show the employees determination and mobilization.”

IWGB game workers branch votes to open membership to tabletop game workers in Britain

Workers at Netmarble formed the sixth game workers union in South Korea. The full name is the Netmarble Branch of the National Chemical Fiber and Food Industry Workers Union. All workers across Netmarble are eligible to join. The union has no nickname, unlike others formed before.

Workers at Riot Games in Los Angeles organised a walk out over the company’s use of forced arbitration in lawsuits. There are currently five active lawsuits over workplace harassment, discrimination, and Equal Pay Act violations. Forced arbitration prevents workers having the right to a verdict from a jury or judge. 150 workers joined the protest, making it the largest walkout in the games industry so far. This follows Google ending forced arbitration after protests involving 20,000 workers.

Game workers in Quebec, organising with Game Workers Unite Montreal, have partnered with the trade union federadation Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) to organise in the industry.

Gamechuck signed the collective agreement, the first in the Croatian gaming industry. 10 of 16 Gamechuck employees are unionized and in September last week had started work on drafting the collective agreement with the legal team of Novi Sindikat (The New Trade Union) union. The collective agreement was finished early this year, with negotiations taking place some two months before signing the document.

As the workers explained: "In the collective agreement, we formalized many of our current internal practices such as a shorter work-day, higher number of paid vacation days and business transparency. With collective agreement in place and guaranteed legal representation, we feel more secure that our internal practices will be respected in times of hardship. We also have a document that we can present as a template to other workers in the industry, to motivate them to ask a similar action from their employer too."

Workers in Germany formed a branch of Game Workers Unite.

Workers in Brazil formed a branch of Game Workers Unite.

Workers at Keywords Studios, which works with Bioware, filed an application with the Alberta Labor Relations Board to unionise.
As the notice states: “United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local No. 401 applied under the Labor Relations Code to become the certified bargaining agent for a unit of employees of Keywords Studios B.C., Inc. compromising All employees employed in development support at the BioWare office in Edmonton,”

Workers in the Bay Area formed a branch of Game Workers Unite.

Game workers in São Paulo sent an open letter to BIG (Brazil Independent Games) Festival. The open letter proposes changes in relation to the space given to independent game workers.