The online media source Kotaku has published an open letter to US game developers from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), in which the organization encourages workers to rethink their working conditions and create a labor union to protect their rights.

The organization of labor unions draws the attention of game studios’ workers, mostly artists and developers, to the "slave" conditions as outlined by management, and the low wages they receive. With the annual sales turnover of video games in the United States, which reached $43 billion in 2018, and unrealistic studios’ incomes, developers’ salaries are disproportionately low. Moreover, the gaming industry has a very developed culture of crunches, periods of non-stop work, such as before an important release. It’s common to not receive overtime during these periods.

“Through the fog of sleepless nights that fade into morning, piles of crumpled Red Bull cans and incessant pressure from management, you have accomplished the unthinkable. You’ve built new worlds, designed new challenges and ushered in a new era of entertainment”, says the open letter. “Now it’s time for industry bosses to start treating you with hard-earned dignity and respect”.

Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of AFL-CIO and a contributor to the letter, declares that it is completely unfair that while artists and developers are creating another revolutionary product, struggling with overwork, putting their whole soul into the game and bringing billions to the studios, Bobby Kotick (CEO of Activision Blizzard) and Andrew Wilson (CEO of Electronic Arts) toast "their" success.

Liz cites the developers at Rockstar Games about how they called an ambulance, fainted and suffered from nervous breakdowns during crunches that could have lasted months or even years just to meet the demands of the studio’s management and the game’s release, which earned their bosses $725 million in the first three days. This likely refers to Red Dead Redemption 2.

Developers of all countries unite!

The American trade union considers the creation of a labor union for US game developers, following the example of the Britain-based Game Workers Unite, as one of the solutions to this problem.

"No matter where you work, bosses will only offer fair treatment when you stand together and demand it", stands the letter. "You have the power to demand a stake in your industry and a say in your economic future".

The AFL — CIO includes 57 American unions representing 12.5 million workers, making it the largest organization in the country.

Illustration: Jim Cooke