The gaming industry has faced a tidal wave of difficulties this year, the most pressing of which involved the layoffs of thousands of workers from various positions and multiple companies. Microsoft alone made up 2,000 of the layoffs in January alone. The suffering of the workers in the industry was acknowledged during The Game Awards 2024, but while awards were being passed out, 461 members of ZeniMax Online Studios voted to unionize.
Microsoft has recognized the union, marking a major win for workers’ rights, according to a press release from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Union. “By coming together and forming a union, we’re able to take a powerful step forward in ensuring a better future for ourselves and for our families, to create protections against layoffs and workplace exploitation, and to provide additional layers of support for workers beyond what [Family and Medical Leave Act] and workplace policies already provide,” said senior motion graphics artist and ZOS United-CWA member Alyssa Gobelle. “At ZeniMax, unions belong here.”
This unionization is just one more in a growing number of studios that have formed unions. Sega of America unionized in March 2023, while a huge number of World of Warcraft staff created a union during the summer. In July, Bethesda Game Studios also fully unionized.
Unfortunately, layoffs are still a real threat to the video game industry. According to Radio-Canada, WB Games Montreal laid off 99 people just this morning. Just a few days ago, People Can Fly announced more than 120 layoffs. The problem is an industrywide one that puts the livelihoods of developers in jeopardy. The teams behind some of our favorite games are impacted by this, and now some, like ZeniMax Online Studios, are forming unions to create protections against layoffs.
