Game Workers Unite is Giving Gamers A Way to Fight Back Against Corporate Greed

Unionization has been a big topic over the past year, with the horrific commentary and revelations about the crunch culture at Rockstar Games, to the layoffs without severance at Telltale, and now the most recent layoffs of about 800 people from Activision Blizzard, after leaving them in the dark about what their employment situation would look like for days while rumors circulated.

In the wake of all this, many folks who enjoy games have been questioning what they can do to help combat this culture. Should we boycott AAA games, or will that also put devs at risk? Should we buy these games so devs will still get their bonuses? Should we just throw more of our money and attention at indie games? None of these questions have really been answered in a satisfying way, and many consumers have been left with no recourse other than to vocally call for developers to unionize, and try to support those who are making attempts to.

But now, the organization that has been leading the charge towards unionization in the games industry, Game Workers United, has offered a tangible action people who play games, or just care about workers’ rights, can take. In the past few days, you’ve probably seen the hashtag #FireBobbyKotick circulating around on Twitter. The hashtag is in reference to Activision Blizzard’s CEO who made about 300 times what the median Activision employee makes last year. This is in addition to the announcement that Activision’s CFO, Dennis Durkin, will be receiving a $15 million dollar bonus for his appointment, which came a little over a month before the layoffs.But it’s more than just a hashtag.

In a recent press release, Game Workers Unite announced that they are starting a petition to fire Bobby Kotick. “Yesterday we tweeted out a call to #FireBobbyKotick that took Twitter by storm and caught the eye of the press.Today we are launching a petition on coworker in support of the 800 Activision Blizzard workers who were laid off while the c-suite personally raked in millions while the company boasted record revenue.”

The petition is meant to send a message to the c-suite of Activision Blizzard that “we won’t let their greed ruin the games we love and uproot the lives of workers anymore!” As of writing this, the petition has 1,638 signatures out of the 2,000 signature goal. It will remain to be seen if any action is actually taken on the part of Activision Blizzard in regards to Kotick’s continued employment, but if nothing else, the petition offers a concrete way for the people who want to support the rights of game workers to do so.

As I mentioned in a previous episode of Palin’ Around, public outrage can be used in a positive way to make change. This doesn’t mean death threats or doxxing, but it does mean letting these companies know, loudly, that their decisions and practices are immoral and unacceptable. There’s no guarantee that Activision Blizzard will act on the feedback, but it’s important to make our voices heard as a collective because PR is a currency in and of itself, and damaging that can get higher-ups to take notice.

If all these layoffs and revelations of how toxic the labor situation in the games industry is has been making you feel angry and helpless, sign the petition. Then, further educate yourself on the organizations that are trying to help game workers organize, like Game Workers Unite, and, as of today, AFL-CIO. And if you have a little extra cash, support the organizers who are putting all their time and energy into making unionization a reality for the games industry.

Image Courtesy of the GWU Petition to fire Bobby Kotick