Earlier today, Game Workers Unite UK announced that itâs officially a legal trade union in the United Kingdom. Now a branch of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), Game Workers Unite UK states that membership is open to âcurrent, former, and soon-to-beâ video games workers and closed to âmanagers with direct hiring and firing power.âOperating as one of the first game workers unions in the world, IWGBâs Game Workers Unite branch will tackle pressing issues like âunpaid overtime, zero-hours contracts, and lack of diversity.â
Game Workers Unite made a splash earlier this March when the organization had a ubiquitous presence at GDC 2018. Handing out union pamphlets that resembled old issues of Nintendo Power, Game Workers Unite quickly made a name for itself around the gaming sphere. Having amassed over 13,000 Twitter followers, the organization continues to promote unionization and workers rights across the globe.
The push for game worker unionization is largely propelled by the horror stories of industry-wide crunch and studio closings. Earlier this year, Rockstar Games made headlines when Dan Houser, the companyâs co-founder, mentioned that Red Dead Redemption 2âs production wrought 100 hour work weeks. IWGB implicitly referenced this incident when announcing the new union branch, writing that the branch looks to combat, âthe use of excessive, often unpaid overtime, commonly referred to as âcrunchâ, where some workers have been reported to work as much as 100 hours a week."
Game Workers Unite UK will elect union officials at its first meeting this Sunday. You can read more from IWGB here.