Video Game Workers and Allies Rally Across North America Against XBOX Layoffs

Video game workers and allies outside the Austin Activision building. Courtesy of CWA Local 2108 Member Emilio González.

NATIONWIDE — Yesterday, hundreds of CWA-represented video game workers, community organizations, and local labor allies held coordinated “Save Our Devs” rallies in the U.S. and Canada to call out layoffs and corporate greed across the industry and to demand fair first contracts across Microsoft’s gaming studios. Last month, Microsoft’s gaming division—now rebranded as XBOX—announced 3,200 planned job reductions across XBOX, with the first phase of layoffs scheduled to impact 1,600 XBOX workers, including hundreds of union members, in early September. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) represents nearly 4,000 video game workers at XBOX throughout the US and Canada.

“Each of the 1600 people from July’s layoffs have their own unique tale, and every developer still employed at an XBOX studio lives in anxious fear, waiting to discover if they are one of the next 1600 stories,” said id Software Principal Engine Programmer and CWA Local 6215 member John “Jebus” Roberts, who was laid off as part of July’s job cuts. “We cannot allow Microsoft to set a precedent of ignoring federal labor law, leaving so many union workers discarded.”

“When I first started working [at Bethesda Game Studios], I was in awe. I wanted nothing more than to contribute to the legacy created by the developers here: the people who forever changed my perception of what a video game could be like when I first played Fallout 3 at 8 years old,” said Bethesda Game Studios Quest Designer and CWA Local 2108 member Stephanie Zachariadis, who was laid off as part of July’s job cuts. “Now? The legends who filled those trophy cases are, for the most part, gone, laid off, or driven away.”

 
Laid off CWA Local 2108 member and former ZeniMax Online Studios Senior Motion Graphics Artist Alyssa Gobelle in front of Scabby the Rat in Hunt Valley, Md.

Video game workers and gamers alike have engaged in unprecedented resistance in response to Microsoft’s unilateral actions. Last month, after a press conference where XBOX workers demanded layoff protections, over 500 CWA members and allies rallied at studio locations across the U.S. and Canada. XBOX fans also posted on Microsoft’s official fan feedback website to call out the layoffs, garnering over 4,000 upvotes and nearly 900 comments on the XBOX Player Voice forum. On July 15, CWA also filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging several labor law violations that require the employer to engage in decisional bargaining over discretionary layoffs.

 
CWA-SCA Local 30111 and video game supporters rallying outside Prince and Wellington Street in Montréal, Canada.

“Like the people I read about in history books, I’m here to fight for fair contracts for all the unionized workers in the video game industry. I’m here to fight for all the game workers across an industry that has decided to put profits ahead of the workers who are the heart and soul of games,” said ZeniMax Senior User Researcher and CWA Local 6215 member Elisabeth Whyte, who was laid off as part of July’s job cuts. “My hope is that the gaming industry will one day return to a model that respects game workers, provides fair compensation, and doesn’t treat a game launch as an opportunity to downsize or close studios. I hope that one day profitable companies will start putting the needs of game workers first so that we can deliver the amazing and fun experiences our customers expect. Until that day, people like us have to keep fighting.”

Watch the livestreamed rallies on UVW-CWA’s Twitch.

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The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a network of worker-organizers and their staff working every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, game, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion