The United Videogame Workers-CWA (UVW-CWA) has a mission to bring together "artists, writers, designers, QA testers, programmers, freelancers and beyond to build worker power irrespective of studio and current job status." The union makes its official debut at the "Video Game Labor at a Crossroads: New Pathways to Industry-Wide Organizing" panel at GDC. Workers will be sharing a petition at the event to gain support for the union and to shine a light on the recent glut of industry layoffs. As a matter of fact, the first major issue the union seeks to address is layoffs, given that one in ten developers were shown the door in 2024. Workers will also be passing around a zine that includes the organization's mission statement, FAQs and an op-ed.

The major labor union representing performers and broadcasters may branch out its historic strike for better working conditions to include the performers who bring video games to life. On Friday, more than a month after its current strike began, the SAG-AFTRA union's national board announced that it was seeking a strike vote against major video game companies like Activision and Disney Character Voices International. After more than a year, according to the union, its negotiations for better pay and protections against artificial intelligence in gaming have reached an impasse. While video game performers are part of SAG-AFTRA, their contracts are separate from the theatrical, TV, and streaming contracts that other members are currently striking over. "Once again we are facing employer greed and disrespect," wrote SAG-AFTRA's president, Fran Drescher.

Earlier this week, Activision Blizzard employees in conjunction with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a major media labor union, filed an unfair labor practices suit with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal government's labor law agency, accusing the video game giant of worker intimidation and union busting. It's the latest collective action in the wake of a California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) suit against Activision Blizzard filed in July that alleged widespread gender-based discrimination and harassment. In the months since, Activision Blizzard employees have staged a walkout, and workers at other major video game companies like Ubisoft have banded together to demand similar improvements to their own workplaces. Collective action in the American video game industry is on the rise, even if unionization isn't.

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.