A union for UK-based video game developers has launched its first manifesto, with ambitions to improve conditions for its 1500 members.
In particular, the Independent Workers of Great Union (IWGB) says it wants to improve job security and the industry’s reliance on enforced overtime, often known as crunch.
The manifesto launch comes at a time when countless companies are laying off workers, with 900 UK game developers laid off across the country last year. Globally, that number is currently estimated at around 13,000 in 2024 alone.
Originally founded five years ago, the IWGB says its membership has grown as a result of the layoffs of the past few years, with a spike in membership of 50 percent over the past 12 months.
“The games industry has reached a tipping point,” Austin Kelmore, chair of the IWGB Game Workers Branch said. “After another year battling this relentless onslaught of layoffs, workers are realising that things urgently need to change, and are unionising on a scale never seen before.