Over the last ten years the emergence of labour unions within the video‑game sector has moved from a fringe curiosity to a central conversation. As developers, artists, writers, programmers and voice talent confront demanding schedules, unpredictable management practices and the encroachment of new technologies, an increasing number of workers are turning to collective bargaining to secure basic protections and fair treatment. The speed of this transformation is striking. In a relatively short span, a multitude of game‑specific unions have been established, and many of them have already demonstrated concrete benefits for their members.
For example, the entertainment‑industry union SAG‑AFTRA organized a strike that secured higher wages and explicit safeguards against the misuse of artificial‑intelligence tools for video‑game voice actors. At ZeniMax, staff staged a walk‑out to protest the company’s stance on remote‑work policies and the outsourcing of core development tasks.
Similar union‑led demonstrations have taken place outside the headquarters of Rockstar Games, Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Riot Games and Build A Rocket Boy, among others. These actions illustrate a broader trend: collaborating with unions is becoming an essential part of operating a game studio. The topic will be examined in depth at the upcoming HR Summit on October 1, where industry professionals will discuss best practices for engaging with organised labour.
This marks a profound shift from the era when union talk was virtually absent from game‑dev circles. "When Game Workers Unite launched eight years ago, there were almost no unions or game‑workers in unions," recalls Austin Kelmore, co‑founder of the Independent Workers' Guild (IWGB) Game Workers and Game Worker Solidarity. "Today, more than 130 distinct groups and unions across 15 countries have banded together to win real improvements in their workplaces. The question has moved from ‘Should the games industry unionise?’ to ‘Which group of workers will unionise next?’" Kelmore emphasizes that the momentum is real: "We are making our voices heard and achieving big wins.
We still have a long road ahead before the entire industry is unionised, but the progress we have made in such a brief period is extraordinary." In France, union activity has become almost routine in major studios. Marc Rutschlé, a representative of Solidaires Informatique at Ubisoft Paris, notes that five years ago the French "Comité Social et Economique" (CSE) contained no union representation.
"Now unions are present in almost every Ubisoft location in France, and some sites host several unions simultaneously. This is standard for a French company and signals that social dialogue at Ubisoft is maturing," he says. However, he warns that the broader French game‑development landscape is in crisis, with many large studios facing bankruptcy or large‑scale layoffs, creating uncertainty for the next one or two years. Poland offers a different picture.
The Polish Gamedev Workers Union, founded only two years ago as part of the nationwide grassroots organisation The Workers Initiative, is officially recognised in ten Polish studios, while the remainder of its members work for smaller developers. Union member Artur Ganszyniec points out a major obstacle: "Polish trade‑union law dates back to the 1980s and was designed for heavy industry, not for creative or remote work. The legislation favours employers and severely limits union influence." Despite these legal constraints, the Polish union has already provided critical services: representing staff during lay‑offs, offering legal assistance, navigating the intricacies of Polish labour law, negotiating workplace standards, and creating an informal support network for members. Kelmore summarises a litany of achievements that unions worldwide have secured for game workers: four‑day workweeks, salary raises, hybrid and remote‑work options, AI usage protections, contractual bonuses, six‑hour workdays, reduced lay‑off numbers, anti‑harassment measures and multi‑million‑dollar settlements for mistreated employees.
He shares a personal anecdote: "My own boss tried to discipline me, and I was able to get the sanction dismissed. Together with colleagues we negotiated better redundancy terms for those affected and for those who stayed." Beyond material gains, Kelmore stresses a cultural shift: "Workers in unions learn that they can collectively drive change, both inside their companies and in the wider world.
Once people experience that power, they never forget it, and they keep pushing for improvement everywhere." Unions also compel companies to respect the law. Kelmore explains that early casework often involved educating executives about legal obligations: "We taught companies how to follow proper disciplinary, grievance and redundancy procedures, how to accommodate disabled and neuro‑diverse staff as required by law, and showed them that workers often know the law better than management does." As unions grow, their leverage increases.
Kelmore cites Microsoft’s recent agreement with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) for 1,900 Blizzard employees, which delivered hybrid‑work rights, AI safeguards, recall rights after layoffs, severance above industry norms and wage increases of up to 34 %. "Company leaders are learning that the more power workers build, the more concessions they must make if they want work to get done," he observes. Rutschlé flags AI protections as a particularly urgent issue, calling AI "the biggest enemy of video games right now" because of both creative concerns and the massive investment influx that threatens studio stability.
He adds that unions provide a counter‑narrative to corporate messaging: "When HR tells you everything is fine, it’s often complete nonsense. Unions are the people you turn to when something goes wrong." Looking forward, significant challenges remain. In Poland, Ganszyniec warns that the default employment model protected by labour law is being replaced by a patchwork of civil contracts. About 40 % of Polish developers now work as one‑person companies, earning slightly more but forfeiting benefits such as paid sick leave, notice periods and job security.
These arrangements hover on the edge of illegality, and proving violations in court is difficult, so the union focuses on education for both developers and studios. Historical scepticism toward unions in Poland compounds the problem, and some companies spend large sums on legal battles to stall union cooperation, discouraging workers from joining.
Rutschlé notes that despite early victories, many game workers still fear retaliation from management. Kelmore adds that misconceptions persist about whether organising is beneficial or harmful; in reality, unions are neutral structures that can be shaped by their members. "Unions are an organisational container filled with messy, complicated people," Kelmore says. "I believe in unions not because they are inherently good, but because they amplify the value of everyday working people.
They are always a work in progress." With dozens of unions now operating across the industry and more forming, the representatives agree that collaboration amplifies impact. Ganszyniec argues that legal and economic systems in any sector, including game development, heavily favour corporations, making collective action essential to create a counterbalance. He stresses that the specialised knowledge held by developers must be protected through better working conditions, fair salaries, lay‑off mitigation strategies, knowledge‑sharing platforms and support networks that retain experienced talent and pass expertise to junior staff.
Kelmore echoes this sentiment: "Unions sharing knowledge across borders helps us win faster. I’ve taken training from unions outside my own, exchanged detailed documents, and participated in worldwide conferences where unions from the US, Canada, France and the UK coordinated protests and campaigns. Our collective actions build strength for everyone." Rutschlé concludes that whether acting alone or in partnership, unions that secure healthier workplaces ultimately benefit the entire industry.
"Better conditions reduce turnover, attract a more diverse talent pool beyond the stereotypical young white male engineer, and lead to more experienced, varied teams. That translates into higher‑quality games for players worldwide." The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, returning to London on October 1 with a focus on People & Leadership, will feature two dedicated sessions on how HR and people professionals can engage constructively with trade unions. Interested attendees can obtain tickets through the provided link.