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The United Videogame Workers union has been announced at this year’s Game Developers Conference, formed in partnership with the Communications Workers of America and the American Federation of Musicians.
More game developers are looking to secure their working rights and benefits with the formation of a new union.
The direct-join union was announced at this year’s Game Developer Conference and is officially called ‘The United Videogame Workers’ union, or UVW-CWA for short. Direct-join means that any developer can join and get involved from any company or publisher, rather than having to gather up a sizeable portion of their workplace.
Members can also sign up without necessarily being employed, opening up opportunities for freelancers and those between jobs.
In a statement, UVA-CWA said that it was the union’s mission to “take back our lives, our labour, and our passion from those who treat us like replaceable cogs.”
The union went on to say that it intended to “create a game industry that works for us, one that nourishes its talent and invests in its future, rather than constantly seeking short-term profits. We are the ones that make the games, so we must be the ones that set the terms of how we work.”
Workers from both the US and Canada will be included as part of the union, and it covers all areas of the industry, from indie budget studios to big, corporate names.
The creation of UVA-CWA comes recently after a union at Bethesda went on strike, with hundreds of developers pausing their work in response to Microsoft outsourcing jobs. The tech giant purchased Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media as part of a huge $7.5 billion USD deal in 2021.
UVA-CWA is the first of its kind in that anyone across the industry can join. This means that developers will be in a better position to make demands, ensure fair pay and job security, and strive to be treated fairly.
The gaming industry is notorious for poor working conditions. Big publishers often cut costs wherever possible, routinely offering developers short-term contracts and replacing people quickly.
There have been a number of scandals over the past few years that have been significant areas of concern, and unashamed use of AI is threatening the jobs of many creators and artists.
Huge lawsuits concerning sexual harassment plagued Activision and Blizzard in 2021, for example, with reports of toxic working environments and a ‘frat boy’ culture that was rampant across both companies.
Tens of thousands of employees were laid off in 2023 and 2024, despite the industry being far more profitable than any other entertainment sector.
