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2024
SAG-AFTRA game worker members go on strike
500 World of Warcraft workers form wall-to-wall union
Ubisoft Barcelona Workers Unionise
Workers at The Game Kitchen Unionise
Bethesda Game Studios Unionise
Workers at TCGplayer hold rally targetting eBay board of director
IWGB union starts recruiting tabletop game workers
Game Workers Unite Montreal partners with CSN
Avalanche Studios Group agrees to sign collective bargaining agreement with Unionen and Sveriges ingenjörer
150 workers at Sega of America win union contract
600 QA workers at Activision unionise
Game workers criticise "reckless decision" by Rockstar to end remote working
IGN Creators Guild voluntarily recongised
Workers at Flying Wild Hog unionise
Game workers strike over wages at Ubisoft in France
Launch of joint union initiative Gameworkers in Denmark
Launch of the IGN Creators Guild
Launch of the CSVI union for video game workers in Spain
2023
Workers at 11 bit studios unionise
Workers at IGN Africa take strike action for Gaza
Polish Gamedev Workers Union voluntarily recognised by CD Projeckt
Keywords workers picket Bioware Edmonton office after being laid off
QA workers at one of Experis Games Solutions' locations vote to unionise
Workers Unionise at Avalanche Studios Group
Workers laid off at Keywords Studios file employment standards complaint
Formation of Polish Gamedev Workers Union
Hex Workers United demands union recognition
SAG-AFTRA workers vote for strike over the Interactive Media Agreement
Workinman Interactive Workers Unite
Workers at Corsair form union with Teamsters
Workers protest at Kakao over layoffs
Strike at Kylotonn
SEGA of America workers vote in favor of a union
Escape Room Workers Union formed with the IWW
Gambrinous becomes second employer to join Game Workers Unite Ireland living wage campaign
League of Legends North American professional players walk out
Workers at SEGA in California form union
TCGplayer workers win union vote
Ubisoft workers in Paris strike for pay rise and 4 day work week
Game worker in Australia wins $13,000 over employee claim
TCGplayer authentication workers form union with CWA
2022
Proletariat workers at Activision Blizzard form union and request recognition
Zenimax QA workers to vote on forming union
Noble Knight Games workers form union with CWA
Dreamfeel is the first employer to sign up to Game Workers Unite Ireland living wage campaign
QA workers at Blizzard Albany win right to vote on forming a union
Videogame actors speak out over pay
Anemone Hug Interactive workers form union with IATSE
Strike disrupts Overwatch Contenders EU broadcast
Workers at Tender Claws unionise with CWA
Activision Blizzard QA workers form a union in Albany, New York
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.
First international conference on unionization
Workers at Mox Boarding House Bellevue request union recognition
CWA announces a labor neutrality agreement with Microsoft
Keywords Studios QA workers at Bioware unanimously vote to unionise
GameStop workers in Nebraska walk out over working conditions
Webzen union and the management agree to wage negotiation
Workers at Raven Software win vote for second videogame union in the USA
Gamechuck signs the first collective agreement in the Croatian gaming industry
Workers at Bioware contractors Keywords Studios file for union
1,100 QA game testers at Activison Blizzard made permanent
Webzen union vote for strike
Kotaku workers strike for remote work, better pay, and benefits
STJV publicly forms union section at Plug In Digital
Raven Software workers form union and ask for recognition
34 quality assurance Raven Software workers form a new union and ask management for recognition. This is following a strike from workers at Raven Software and Activision Blizzard, the parent company, when management laid off 12 workers.
2021
Riot Games ordered to pay out $100 million in settlement over gender discrimination
Vodeo Workers Unite the first video game union to be recognised in North America
Activision Blizzard workers go on strike and crowdfund for $1,000,000 strike fund
Collective agreement between Equity and voice acting studio in the UK
Workers walk out over game tester job cuts at Activision owned Raven Software
Game Workers Australia form division of Professionals Australia Union
Activision Blizzard QA workers walk out in response to Raven QA layoffs
Lockwood Publishing workers publicly demand company follow redundancy law
United Paizo Workers union recognised by employer
Freelance workers at Paizo refuse new contracts until improvements made
40 Freelance workers at Paizo refuse to accept any new contracts until improvements were made at the company. On October 14th of the same year, they also added to their demands that the company recognize United Paizo Workers for the full-time workers.
Workers at Activision Blizzard sue for labour violations
Twitch streamers take day off in protest against Twitch's handling of hate raids
Twitch Blackout (Apagão da Twitch)
Ubisoft workers publish open letter in support of Activision Blizzard worker walkout
Workers at Activision Blizzard launch open letter supporting lawsuit against sexual harassment
Work stoppage and public statements in response to sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard
Games journalists pause coverage of Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft
Lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard for discrimination and sexual harrassment
Solidaires Informatique sues Ubisoft for institutional sexual harassment
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.
Workers at Fusebox Games send open letter to management
IGN workers write open letter about editorial autonomy
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 form union at Webzen
Canadian performers ratify collective bargaining agreement with Game On Creative
2020
GWU Los Angeles and GWU Orange County merge to form Game Workers of Southern California
Union contract with Future plc ratified
General Workers Union files court injunction to stop NetEnt layoffs
Cards Against Humanity workers ratify collective bargaining agreement
SAG-AFTRA extends video game voice acting contract to November 2022
Strike in Versailles over closure of Blizzard office
Thunderful Games signs onto sectoral collective bargaining agreement
STJV publicly forms union sections at Dontnod Entertainment, Ankama and Amplitude Studios
STJV publicly forms union section at Ubisoft Montpellier
STJV publicly forms union section at Ubisoft Annecy
Blizzard workers launch anonymous wage spreadsheet in response to wage disparity
Solidaires Informatique launch collective lawsuit against Ubisoft
Writers for Voltage's Lovestruck win 21 strike
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 form union at Xlgames
STJV publicly forms union section at Ubisoft Paris
Cards Against Humanity workers unionise
Swedish unions Unionen and SACO sign collective agreement with Paradox Interactive
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.
Negotiation of collective agreement at Gamechuck
Workers at US Future launch union campaign with Writers Guild of America
Nexon Korea agrees to 6.8% pay rise in union negotiation
The CWA launches CODE: The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees
The CWA (Communication Workers of America) launched a new initiative to unionise game and tech workers. The campaign hired two organisers, Emma Kinema and Wes McEnany, to provide support for workers to unionise. Emma previously co-founded Game Workers Unite and organised with workers in the Southern California chapters.
2019
Launch of Game Workers Unite Spain
Online protests follow the sacking of videogame designer at NetEase
Workers in STJV strike for 54 days against government proposed pension reforms
Le Stream Reconductible stream marathon raises over €150,000 for union strike funds
Launch of Game Workers Unite branch of Financial Service Union Ireland
Workers in Ireland organising as Game Workers Unite formed a branch of the Irish FSU (Financial Services Union).
Launch of Game Workers Unite Portland
IWGB launches campaign to defend victimised member at ustwo Games
Demonstration of Smilegate workers
Demonstration of Nexon workers
Launch of Game Workers Unite Ireland
Voice Actor Union wins agreement to use union only actors with Nintendo for Dragalia Lost
Twitch streamers boycott platform in support of striking Amazon workers
Vox Media Union secure union contract
Vox Media workers stage one-day walkout over union contract
Workers at Blizzard Entertainment SAS issue union statement against layoffs
Workers at Riot Games in Los Angeles walk out over use of forced arbitration
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.
Solidaires Informatique issues statement on sexual harassment at Quantic Dream
Future recognizes union
Launch of Game Workers Unite Argentina
Launch of Game Workers Unite Italy
2018
Launch of Game Workers Unite DC
Launch of the game workers branch of the IWGB
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) launched the first ever branch for workers in the UK's video games industry. It aims to tackle the wide-scale exploitation that is now common in one of the fastest-growing sectors in the UK economy.
Launch of Game Workers Unite Orange County
Launch of Game Workers Unite Atlanta
Workers form union at Smilegate
Launch of Game Workers Unite Boston
Workers form union at Nexon
Launch of Game Workers Unite Dallas
Launch of Game Workers Unite Vancouver
Launch of Game Workers Unite New York City
Launch of Game Workers Unite Seattle
First game worker organising meeting in the UK
Launch of Game Workers Unite Baltimore
Launch of Game Workers Unite Australia
Launch of Game Workers Unite Montréal
Launch of Game Workers Unite Brazil
Launch of Game Workers Unite Deutschland
Game Workers in Sao Paulo write an open letter to BIG Festival demanding transparency and changes
Launch of Game Workers Unite Bay Area
Launch of Game Workers Unite Triangle
Launch of Game Workers Unite Toronto
Launch of Game Workers Unite Los Angeles
Launch of Game Workers Unite Chicago
Launch of Game Workers Unite Orlando
Launch of Game Workers Unite Austin
KCTU condemns victimisation of female game developer at IMC Games
GDC 2018 "Union Now? Pros, Cons, and Consequences of Unionization for Game Devs."
This roundtable event featuring the IGDA executive director Jennifer Maclean, as well as representatives from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union Steve Kaplan and Katie Ryan, sparked widespread discussion in the industry about unionisation. The event became a focus for the establishment of Game Workers Unite.
Launch of Game Workers Unite
Workers at Eugen Systems go on strike for 48 days
2017
Launch of Game Makers of Finland trade union
SAG-AFTRA strike ends with a deal
Workers form Syndicate of Video Game Workers (or STJV)
SAG-AFTRA holds demonstration in Los Angeles during strike
Toca Boca workers win sick pay rights from day one
2016
Voice actors in SAG-AFTRA union launch strike after failed negotiations
2013
Student workers at Foxconn threaten to sabotage PS4 production
2012
Strike of workers at Foxconn factory that make Xbox consoles
Workers at a Foxconn factory in Wuhan that assemble Xbox video game consoles protest over a job dispute. Estimates ranged from 80 to 200 workers involved in the strike. Foxconn announced it was close the production line for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console and transfer some workers to other roles, but then reneged on paying severance to other workers. Workers climbed onto the roof of a factory dormitory, with some threatening to jump to their deaths. This follows collective actions in factories that produce technology for other companies, including Apple.
2011
Workers at Eden Games take strike action against Atari
2009
Prizee workers go on strike to protest layoffs
Call for a Game Developers Guild
2005
SAG-AFTRA Reaches Agreement Over Game Voice Actor Strike
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.
2004
ea_spouse open letter
The ea_spouse letter drew public attention to the issue of “crunch” in the videogame industry.
1998
Launch of Ubifree virtual union website at Ubisoft
1986
Former Atari workers win $600,000 in backpay
1985
Atari workers strike and occupy factory in Limerick
1983
Atari workers lose union recognition vote
1955
Nintendo workers go on hunger strike to stop the relocation of a factory
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