Record Sales, Record Layoffs: Gaming's Broken Metrics Exposed

Global games hit $195.6B revenue in 2025, but one-third of workers were laid off. The industry celebrates wrong metrics. Here's why.

The Daily Perspective
How Game Workers Are Fighting Back: Heart Machine's Union Win

Heart Machine developers unionise with CWA, securing voluntary recognition. A small studio's stand reflects broader labour movement in crisis-hit gaming industry.

The Daily Perspective

Campaign to Organize Digital Employees in the tech 👩‍💻, games 🕹️, and digital industries 🖱️ with CWA. code-cwa.org/organize

#CWA #CWACode #GameWorkers #LabourMovement #Organize #solidarity #Techworkers #unions

GDC Survey Indicates Over Half of U.S. Game Workers Want To Join a Union

Over half of video game workers in the United States want to join a union, while almost two-thirds support unionization. That's according to GDC's 2025 Game Industry Salary Report, which was published in November.

Portside

(Dec 2025) Video Game Unions Meet
Coordinadora Sindical del Videojuego - #CGT (Spain)
#FIOM-CGIL Milan Work Council (Italy)
ver.di Game Devs Roundtable (Germany)
Game Workers Unite Ireland - #FSU (Ireland)
#IWGB Game Workers (United Kingdom)
Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (France)
https://notesfrombelow.org/article/one-industry-one-fight

More (Aug 2025)
https://notesfrombelow.org/article/video-game-worker-unions-and-revolution

#frombelow #GameWorkers #LabourMovement #organize #solidarity #unions

One industry, one fight

by Games Workers // Video Game Unions Present a United Front Across Western Europe

Notes From Below
Blizzard Entertainment Platform and Technology Workers Unionize Under CWA

Another branch of Blizzard Entertainment has organized under the Communications Workers of America. Today the union announced that over 400 employees of the company's Platform & Technology department have successfully voted to unionize. This group includes workers with a wide variety of job titles including graphic designers, engineers, and project managers on Battle.net, as well as workers in localization, quality assurance testing, and customer support in on other Blizzard products.

Portside
A council made of CEOs will represent the views of the CEOs, not the majority of people of the sector. For that we have @gameworkers.co.uk
https://mastodon.social/@GIbiz/114827389510374519
#gamesindustry #gameworkers

If you work in games, you can sign this petition in solidarity with workers who lost their job. It's time we take a stand!

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/were-done-playing/

#games #videogames #gameworkers #GWU

We’re Done Playing

Video game workers strike back. Over the last few years, game workers have been struck by unprecedented mass layoffs, driven by corporate greed and short-term profit seeking. While employers treat us like a commodity and line their pockets with our blood, sweat and tears, we’re left to pick up the pieces of our lives. Whether we're unceremoniously discarded by our employers and left to fend for ourselves, or mournful survivors expected to fill the absence of our lost colleagues, we're all affected. This has taken a huge toll on our mental health, our communities, and the quality of the games we make. In an industry already plagued by pitifully short careers, overwork, employee misclassification, precarious immigration status and wage suppression - we can’t afford to stay silent any longer. It's your turn. Sign this petition to stand with game workers and demand dignity and job security for all. Enough is enough; we demand: No more arbitrary layoffs. Concrete protections for all workers in the industry. Financial transparency from employers about their decisions. You deserve better. Some examples of ways that employers could take steps towards meeting our demands are: Improved severance pay Extended health insurance coverage. Recall rights - those who let go get priority when the company starts hiring again. Ban generative AI from our workplaces. The common decency of notice before a layoff. Sustainable growth instead of short term boom and bust hiring cycles. Ending corporate stock buybacks Time to grieve those who are laid off Sign this petition to send a message to the video game robber barons that we aren’t playing anymore and share it with your friends and colleagues. This is a co-op game, and we’re all in it together.

The games industry is broken. How do we fix it?
Let's figure it out together at the game developers unConference!

An open forum where the attendants create the day's agenda on the spot and freely exchange information. It's not about business. It's about discourse and having fun. Sign up for free!

👉 https://gameworkers.co.uk/unconference 👈

📍 April 5th in Jerwood Space, London, UK

#gamedev #gamesindustry #videogames #conference #unConference #gameworkers #union

GameDev unConference