Video Game Developers Secure Voluntary Union Recognition

A supermajority of developers at independent video game studio Heart Machine have formed a wall-to-wall union with CWA Local 9003 to better advocate for their rights and benefits. Workers at the LA-based studio, responsible for Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, presented management with the request for voluntary recognition, which was granted.

“I decided to get involved in organizing my studio because I’ve seen so many peers in the industry stand up to protect the craft we all care so deeply about. Watching that momentum grow made me realize that if we love this work, we have to protect it, especially now,” said CWA Local 9003 member and Heart Machine Gameplay Tools Engineer Steph Aligbe. “We are proud that our studio chose to voluntarily recognize our union and live up to its high-road labor values, and we look forward to working on a first contract that safeguards our workplace.”

Video game workers in the U.S. and Canada are able to join CWA’s direct-join formation, United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433, a training ground that has helped workers build the skills and relationships needed to organize their own studios regardless of current job status or employer.

Read the full press release here.