no official CWA press release yet, but here’s the union’s:

Workers at Bethesda Game Studios have joined the Communication Workers of America, forming the first wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft video game studio. The workers, consisting of 241 developers including artists, engineers, programmers and designers have either signed a union authorization card or indicated that they wanted union representation via an online portal. Microsoft has recognized the union.

and here’s their Twitter account

  • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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    3 months ago

    Damn good news. The video game industry is so predatory, they need unions just to try to have normal office schedules and stuff.

  • k_rol@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    Wow such great news. I hope we will see more of that to change that industry a little.

    • azerial@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 months ago

      When I started working at EA 14 years ago (I got laid off last year) they literally told us we might have to sleep under our desks. I promptly told them if that was the case, I would quit. Instead they made us work 7 days a week 9-9 for months. Fun job.

      • FIash Mob #5678@beehaw.org
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        3 months ago

        Christ, that’s awful.

        I spent my first 12 years in the work force in a financial services firm that, during tax season (so four months out of the year) required 14 hour days, so I understand that grind a little bit.

        Awful stuff.

        It’s great seeing unions getting stronger. I just wish it didn’t have to happen out of necessity due to lackadaisical and careless governance.

  • jabathekek@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    I wonder if this will translate to higher quality games now that the people that actually make them have more control over their product?

    • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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      3 months ago

      Unionizing wouldn’t normally really give workers more control over the product, it’s about worker benefits, and management levels who direct product are usually excluded from participating in a union.

      • leftzero@lemmynsfw.com
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        3 months ago

        Happier coders probably write better code, though.

        (Not that writing better code will help if ES6 is still running on Morrowind’s relabeled gamebryo engine like everything they’ve released since Morrowind, of course, but one can hope…)

  • azerial@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    Woohoo!! This awesome! As a game dev, I can speak to how awful the industry can be. That’s really great news that they unionized. 🙌

    • The Cuuuuube@beehaw.org
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      3 months ago

      The rest of us computer engineers should show solidarity by also unionizing. We’re stronger together