'Every Game You Like Is Built on the Backs of Workers.' Video Game Creators Are Burned Out and Desperate for Change

Spending on video games and related equipment reached an all-time high last year, with Americans shelling out $42 billion to immerse themselves in virtual worlds where they can steal cars, shoot cowboys, and fight Nazis with abandon. But as tens of thousands of video game fans and creators gather in Los Angeles this week for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, more commonly known as E3, a difficult truth about the gaming industry is beginning to emerge: what's seen by outsiders as a fun, creative business is becoming psychologically and financially unbearable for those working in it. "Every game you like is built on the backs of workers," says Nathan Allen Ortega, 34, who thought he found his dream job when Telltale Games offered him a position as a community and video manager in 2015. Ortega was such a Telltale enthusiast that he used to participate in cosplay--the practice of dressing up as a particular character for events--as Rhys Strongfork, one of the main heroes in the company's Tales from the Borderlands. So it was an easy decision to pack up his stuff in Texas and relocate near the company's headquarters in San Rafael, California.