Why 2021 Was the Biggest Year for the Labor Movement in Games

Marked by walkouts, strikes, petitions, and open letters, 2021 has been the biggest year yet for workers in the US video game industry taking a stand against labor conditions. Over the last year, a vocal contingent of video game workers has warned employers that they won't tolerate subpar labor conditions just to fulfill their childhood dream of making video games. "In my experience, it actually isn't suffering that drives people to take the risk and organize," says Tom Smith, senior director of organizing for the Communications Workers of America, the country's largest communications and media union. I think this is a moment in history in which both things are out there." On December 15, CWA helped form the US' first video game union at 13-person indie studio Vodeo Games--just two months after facilitating tabletop game publisher Paizo's unionization effort. Labor conditions in the games industry have been under scrutiny for nearly two decades. In the early 2000s, whistleblowers called attention to crunch, the practice of pulling 60- to 80-hour weeks ahead of game launches--a labor tactic that continues to this day. More recently, allegations of sexism and unequal treatment at top studios have roiled the industry. In 2018, current and former employees of League of Legends publisher Riot Games alleged that the company fostered a sexist "bro culture." At Ubisoft, in 2020 several employees alleged that the company was steeped in sexism and that executives and HR failed to adequately handle complaints of misconduct. And in 2021, California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard, alleging rampant sexism and a "pervasive frat boy workplace culture." In a statement to WIRED for this story, Activision spokesperson Kelvin Liu says, "There is no place at Activision Blizzard, or anywhere, for discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind.