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241 game developers at Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) have unionized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
This includes artists, engineers, programmers, and designers. Microsoft, the parent company of Bethesda Games Studios, has recognized the union.
According to the CWA press release on the topic, this marks the first Wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft games studio, meaning all eligible job titles are being represented by one union, rather than just one job class/title. This sets it apart from previous unionization efforts in Microsoft-owned studios, which were centered around QA workers.
A post on X from OneBGS_USA said that members are “ecstatic,” and they hope to “advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry.”
We, a majority of developers at Bethesda Game Studios Dallas, Rockville, and Austin, are ecstatic to announce the formation of our union with @CWAUnion. Together as #OneBGSUSA, we advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry.
— OneBGS_USA (@OneBGS_USA) July 19, 2024
The union’s statement continued, “As a democratic organization, we seek to empower the collective wishes of our studios’ workers; having a safe, sustainable, and equitable work environment for all. Having a proper seat at the discussion table allows us to turn those wishes into reality.
“Joining in solidarity with our fellow members at @ZeniMaxWorkers, @OneBGS_MTL, and all of @CWAUnion, we push for increased job security, compensation transparency, and flexibility to continue creating the games we love.”
This has been met with happiness and excitement across the video games industry and labor unions generally. Johnny Brown, the President of CWA Local 2108 (the chapter of the CWA Bethesda’s Maryland members will be part of) described it as a “groundbreaking achievement, and said, “Workers are taking a step forward to negotiating better working conditions, helping to raise standards across the industry.”
Unions are coming to the video game industry
The video game industry is increasingly turning to organization in the face of existential threats like artificial intelligence. Zenimax union members have previously said that an agreement was reached that “AI would not be used to replace a person’s job.” There have also been unionization efforts in the UK and the IWGB Game Workers Union has spoken out about anti-worker practices at Rockstar as development for Grand Theft Auto 6 reaches a fever pitch.
Video game journalist for Bloomberg, Jason Schrier, said about the Bethesda union, “We’ll likely see many more announcements like this in the coming months and years. Labor in the video game industry has reached a tipping point.”
Featured image credit: Bethesda Game Studios
