Komal Mishra 

BBA-3 
Whistling Woods International Faculty-Kajol 
Bangera 
 
 
 
 

 
RESEARCH ESSAY ON GAME WORKERS UNITE 
 
“Every game you like is built on the backs of workers” 
 
The historical backdrop of video games returns to the 1950s, yet many still consider them 
to be a specialty action that occurs away from public scrutiny. Over this time, computer 
games have developed into a worldwide industry that has reshaped how we consider 
play and work. The video games industry has an involved acquaintance with the 
military-mechanical complex. The main computer games were made on PCs intended to 
be utilized to plot rocket directions. Looking at the work that goes into making video 
games can help us to make sense of the industry today.  
In spite of the fact that the conditions in manufacturing plant work are outstanding at this 
point, there are more stories approaching the acts of "crunch" in video games. This 
includes working fantastically extensive stretches of time in the approach a game's 
discharge – now and then at least 80 hours of the week – to guarantee that it is done to a 
publishable standard. 

 
 
This has started a worldwide development for unionization in the games business, calling 
itself Game Workers Unite. The point of game industry work arranging has erupted as a 
flashpoint among designers and the studios and distributors they work for here at GDC. 
Unionization is currently top of the psyche for some industry representatives who, for 
quite a long time and away from public scrutiny, have talked about exploitative and 
dangerous stirring conditions here and there the business stepping stool. Presently, that 
discussion is moving into the light — the initial phase in a probable extended, difficult, yet 
significant fight to improve the working states of the game industry. 
 
The video game industry is more extravagant than it has ever been. Its income in 2018 
was $43.8 billion, an ongoing report assessed, thanks in enormous part to gigantically 
well-known games like Fortnite and Call of Duty. These record-breaking benefits could 
have driven one to imagine that the individuals who create computer games had it made. 
Be that as it may, at that point the slaughter started.  
 
 
 
 
Unionization, or the process of employees forming a group that acts as an intermediary 
between workers and management, isn’t a new concept in the games industry–it’s just 
starting to take a sharper form in the face of infamous controversies occurring more often.  
Game Workers Unite (GWU), a grassroots organization advocating for workers rights, has 
been consistent in calling for the unionized gaming industry. While not a labor union 
themselves (GWU UK is the only chapter that’s become an official trade union), they have 
local chapters all over the world alongside an international body that helps coordinate 
regional efforts and community discussions. Its goal is to “connect pro-union activists, 
exploited workers, and allies across disciplines, classes, and countries in the name of 
building a unionized game industry.”  
 
That establishment starts with gatherings, talks of working environment issues, and a 
rundown of requests that most of the workers can concur on. That may appear to be 
basic, however, coordinators need to corral most of a studio's workforce so as to push 
ahead and do as such while under risk of occupation misfortune and other retaliatory 
activities by the employer. 
 
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome when starting to organize is finding common 
ground between all employees. This usually includes healthcare, pay rate, scheduling, and 
other issues that transcend specific job types and responsibilities. 
 
A few specialists need computer game players' assistance to push organizations to treat 
laborers well. "I really accept that if gamers began calling altogether for organizations to 
begin changing how they treat their laborers, it would have an immense effect," says 
Emily Grace Buck, who bolsters the unionization push. Shoppers could likewise belittle 
studios that deliberately evade crunch or that uniformly disperse benefits among laborers, 
laborers state. One French studio is organized as a community with the goal that laborers 
claim and deal with the organization. Scratch Defossez, another computer game designer, 
as of late began accumulating a rundown of organizations that make games without 
crunch, proof that it's conceivable to discover studios with great working conditions. Be 
that as it may, without some outer push, he stated, existing organizations most likely 
won't change willfully. 
 
 

 
 
INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS 
The individuals from Game Workers Unite that Polygon talked with all focused on the 
significance of managing working conditions in the game business. Crunch — the act of 
functioning admirably past 40 hours out of each week for a considerable length of time or 
months one after another to finish a game undertaking — came up more than once in 
those discussions. In any case, social issues were additionally the main explanation behind 
sorting out. 
It’s a very white and male-dominated industry,” Bianco said. “It can be a very 
unwelcoming place if you don’t fall into that category, especially if you are public-facing. 
Looking back at GamerGate and other targeted hate campaigns and harassment, 
especially on social media, historically we don’t think companies have been brilliant about 
supporting their employees through those kinds of events. We want to be a force that can 
do that on behalf of workers.” 
 
 
 

 
 
● 74% of game workers are not paid overtime, but 90% can be expected to work 
extra hours.  
● 53% of game workers believe that their skillset could secure better wages and 
conditions in another industry. 
● 45% of women feel they have or will at some stage encounter barriers to their 
career progression because of their gender.  
● 45% of women have experienced some form of bullying or harassment whilst 
working in games or by being associated with the industry.  
● Two-thirds of games companies (worldwide) do not have mechanisms in place to 
deal with harassment or abuse.  
 
At the point when we strip back the cloak that shrouds how computer games are made, it 
is conceivable to see an industry that is reshaping how we work, both in nations like the 
UK and progressively over the world. For an industry set up to make us play progressively, 
many engaged with the games business are voicing worries about their very own working 
time. What is clear is that the computer games industry is developing, however, the 
suggestions for work and play areas yet being challenged.