People Power

In a world where the games industry has experienced over 35,000 job losses in the last 18 months, there's a renewed push for the termination of remote-friendly work, and the longevity of careers in the sector is a genuine concern, we're certainly due some positive news when it comes to the rights and protections of those on the ground floor having to wade through it all.

The news comes from a potentially unlikely source. The team at ZA/UM have made history, founding the first legally recognised union in the UK games industry. ZA/UM Workers' Alliance is represented by several internal reps, including Market Manager, Poppy Ingham.

Speaking to the reason for the union's formation, she said, primarily, it was to "...try and have the studio work as a collaborative project between the workers and management. We like being here. We want to continue being here. So let's try and get a seat at the table in the big management meetings."

Righting that power dynamic between management and staff, especially during the current turbulence within the industry, is a commendable goal. ZA/UM are no strangers to job losses and management-level tomfoolery. The studio lost a quarter of its staff last year, and an open letter in 2022 from senior developers claimed the studio's new owners had conducted a fraudulent, aggressive takeover, with the intention of ousting staff and seizing control. Those same developers were then accused of having been responsible for creating a toxic, mismanaged development environment. None of which were conducive to fun, stable working conditions.

With three cancelled projects since the release of Disco Elysium, it's safe to say that additional representation and enhanced protections will come as a welcome sight for many. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) represents the new ZA/UM initiative, and ZA/UM's management has already agreed to inform and negotiate with the union on key issues. They've also been surprised by how positive the process has already been.

"When we sat down for our first discussion, I was prepared to hear, 'OK, here are all the problems at ZA/UM, and this is how a union is going to fix them...I was pleasantly surprised to hear, 'Things are not bad here. We have it pretty good, but let's work together to make it even better," says Ed Tomaszewski, ZA/UM President since 2022.

The morale boost from unionising, as well as the reaction to the gameplay reveal trailer for ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies, is a positive momentum the team sorely needed after years of speculation and op-eds about the working conditions within the studio and the ability of the team to create another hit to the level of Disco Elysium.

In an industry where the scales of power are often not in favour of the many, especially in the last year, it's a pleasant change to see workers with a recognised seat at the table. As someone who has worked through two redundancies and a very sudden contract non-renewal in the last couple of years, let me just say, we need much, much more of that.

"The lack of collective bargaining power is definitely a part of the issues we're seeing with the wider industry," adds Declan Keane, UI/UX Designer and union rep for ZA/UM Workers' Alliance. "We can fix that, and as an industry, do better. Hopefully, other people can look to us and think, if they can do it, so can we."

Full story sourced from Gamesindustry.biz