From unions to strikes, this has been a busy week

July 27, 2024 10:00 AM

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If there’s a hot word for this week, it’s undoubtedly “union.” If you’d asked me at the beginning of the week what stories I thought I was going to see — I don’t know what answer I would have given, but “unionization efforts from within the industry’s top studios” probably wouldn’t have been the first or second response. But I’m pleased to see these developments in the industry nonetheless, especially after months and months and months of nothing but layoffs stories.

First we have the formation of the OneBGSUSA union at Bethesda Game Studios (which technically happened last week, but I didn’t talk about it in the last KF). 241 workers formed the first wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft studio. Then, this week, the World of Warcraft team formed the World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild, another wall-to-wall union that consists of over 500 members. In both cases, the unions formed following Microsoft’s 2022 labor neutrality agreement with the Communication Workers of America (the parent union). Microsoft has said it will engage in good faith negotiations with both unions.

We also this week have seen the importance of unions, as SAG-AFTRA has now called for a strike against video game publishers. According to the union, talks for a new contract broke down over AI-related concerns — in a news conference reported by the Associated Press, the two bodies couldn’t agree over what constituted a protected performer. We’ve also seen another major layoff story, as 36 workers at Humble Games have been laid off in what parent company Ziff Davis is calling a “restructuring.”

A man deeply engaged in a video game at a modern esports setup with multiple screens. — Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels

In personal news, I think it’s time for me to properly prepare for the upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Bioware revealed the game’s primary voice cast recently, which means that it’s time to start seriously thinking about the next phase of the story — and frankly, I need a refresher after 10 years. There are also a number of smaller games I want to check out, such as Rawmen, The Operator and A Star Named EOS.