This June 26, a branch of Bethesda Game Studios, creators of games like Skyrim and Fallout, announced that it is unionizing. Through a post in X, formerly twitter, Bethesda Game Studios Montreal announced that the unionization process was being ratified in Quebec.
We have to remember that Microsoft bought Bethesda in 2020 and in 2022 it acquired Activision Blizzard. Along with the second acquisition also came a pleasant surprise, one of the few we have had in the industry in recent years. And, together with the Communications Workers of America, it had reached a labor neutrality agreement.
This agreement sought to guarantee the exercise of the right of workers to unionize and negotiate collective contracts.
This is especially important in the context of the recent layoffs and closures of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks studios, which were also part of the studios acquired along with Bethesda.
In the case of Tango Gameworks, the studio was defunct even after the modest but resounding commercial success of the game Hi-fi RUSH. This decision sends a disastrous message; Even if you do your job well, manage to create innovative products, well received in the market and by critics, the owners of your company can fire you for no other reason than to cut costs.
Of course, it's no surprise that QA workers at ZeniMax, a Bethesda publisher and also part of Microsoft, formed a union last year.
For those who do not know the work of the quality control department in video games, these people are dedicated to looking for errors in games, they have specific skills to detect mechanics and designs that can be abused by players or different actions that cause the game is unstable.
Time and time again, quality control workers talk about how they are treated as if they were second-class workers, especially compared to programmers or designers, in addition to denouncing that they are hired temporarily and do not enjoy seniority benefits like any other worker.
Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg, forced internal arbitrations act against the interests of workers in the best of cases, in the worst situations, as in the case of Riot Games that we report on Peninsula 360 press, protect harassers and allow gender discrimination.
We could have an entire program exclusively dedicated to labor abuses in the video game industry, but it can be summarized as a lack of power on the part of workers to negotiate, report and speak without fear of the difficulties and abuses they suffer and do not report. fear of retaliation in a relatively small industry where being blacklisted by certain people means the end of your career.
Without further ado, a lot of work is needed in this industry that is still in its adolescence and with a little luck, we will see the increase in workers who organize to assert their rights but above all, to create the video games that we all love. They love them, in a dignified environment free of violence.
You may be interested in: Sony and the drama of Helldivers 2
