On Dec. 9, crowds gathered for the annual Game Awards, a glitzy, Oscars-like, red-carpet event in Los Angeles, complete with orchestral performances and games industry executives donning suits and heels. As the luminaries of the gaming world filed inside, several workers stood outside the entrances, holding up signs calling for Activision Blizzard to rehire 12 contractors it had laid off the prior week. That same day, an independent games studio was gearing up to announce it would become the first unionized gaming company in North America.
That contrast — between the flash of an awards ceremony and the toil of those working in the industry — is emblematic of the position the games industry finds itself in now: While video game companies rake in billions of dollars, their workers complain of unfair labor practices, long hours, sexual harassment and workplace misconduct. Video game companies in North America have never successfully unionized. That changed Dec. 16, when a union at the indie developer Vodeo Games was recognized by management.
“There’s been a lot of groundwork that’s been happening in the game industry over the last few years in terms of raising awareness about unions,” Vodeo designer Carolyn Jong said. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect workplace. There’s always going to be issues and there’s always a power imbalance between management and workers. … A big part of improving the bar, which is currently somewhere near the floor for the gaming...
The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against 15 people, including six medical professionals, for allegedly participating in schemes that collectively submitted $2 billion i...