The Economics of Game Development and Community Engagement

Paris Marx is joined by Taylor Welling and Kathryn Friesen to discuss how they formed wall-to-wall unions in the video game industry and their thoughts on broader challenges like layoffs and corporate consolidation.

Taylor Welling is a producer and union member at OneBGS and Kathryn Friesen is quest designer and member of the World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• OneBGS and the World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild each won their union votes in July 2024.
• More video game workers have already been laid off in 2024 than did in all of 2023.
• Microsoft and the Communication Workers of America signed a labor neutrality agreement in 2022, to take effect 60 days after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard closed. In May, that agreement was extended to ZeniMax Studios.
• Microsoft laid off 1,900 gaming workers in January and closed four internal studios in May.
• Blizzard provides swords, shields, and helmets to employees celebrating 5, 10, and 20 years at the company.
• The ZeniMax Workers Union struck an agreement with their employer on the use of AI.
• Nicole Carpenter at Polygon put together a list of video game unions and an explainer on the rise of video game unions.
• Communication Workers of America has more information on unionizing as part of their CODE-CWA campaign.

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