In 2018, Rockstar Games, one of the industry's most celebrated video game developers, released Red Dead Redemption 2. Highly anticipated even by those who rarely play games, the pressure to succeed was apparent to all. Rockstar were aiming to raise the bar for open-world video games, and to strive as close to perfection as they could. But perfection and high expectations come at a cost, and ultimately it is the developers who pay the price. Leading up to the release date, the grim reality of the work required to make the game was becoming more and more apparent. Dan Houser, co-founder and writer at Rockstar games revealed in an interview that the team were pulling 100 hour weeks to get the game ready in time [1]. Although he later clarified that he meant only the senior writing team, reports soon came out regarding the crunch (an industry term that refers to an intense period of working long hours in order to get a game ready on time) that, although not mandatory, was expected and encouraged. Weekends were lost to the development of the game, mental health was impacted in many, and even relationships were damaged [2]. There was a very human cost to creating the game, and it is one that is widespread, even accepted, throughout the industry. Every few years, a fresh story will emerge detailing the terrible conditions in which the largest video games are produced, and every few years the world forgets. 2004 saw the 'EA Spouse Letter' that first sparked the debate around crunch and its effects on the families of developers, bolstered by another spousal letter in 2010 written by the spouses of Rockstar developers forced to work long hours [3]. And more recently in 2020, CD Projekt Red were criticised for their mismanagement of Cyberpunk 2077, a game that had some developers crunching for over a year, and yet still released in a broken state [4]. All of these stories tell us that there is a fundamental problem with the way that video games are being developed, where product comes first, and employee health second. Developers cannot rely on the customers to demand better working conditions, because the simple fact is - the vast majority of the general public don't know about the crunch required, and many of those that do simply do not care. Instead they must unionise, a strategy that has worked time and time again to protect workers' rights, and prevent them from being taken advantage of in the brutal capitalist society they live in [5]. Until they do, developers will continue to have their passion for working in the industry exploited, and in a few years time, another story will come out of overworked developers, pushed to their limits for the sake of an entertainment product, whose profits will line the pockets of shareholders and CEO's. REFERENCES [1] https://vulture.com/2018/10/the-making-of-rockstar-games-red-dead-redemption-2.html [2] https://kotaku.com/inside-rockstar-games-culture-of-crunch-1829936466 [3] https://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-development-problems-crunch-culture-ea-rockstar-epic-explained-2019-5?r=US&IR=T#a-trio-of-recent-blockbusters-red-dead-redemption-2-anthem-and-fortnite-are-the-subjects-of-major-investigations-detailing-the-messy-work-of-creating-blockbuster-games-4 [4] https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/4/21575914/cyberpunk-2077-release-crunch-labor-delays-cd-projekt-red [5] https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0113/are-labor-unions-effective.aspx

**Video Games Developers often have inhumane working conditions - but regardless, EVERYONE should unionise.** - There are many examples of video games developers being treated particularly poorly in regards to their work conditions. - However, even if this did not occur, they should still unionise - as should every worker. **Benefits of unionising** - Unionised workers earn on average [11.2% more](https://www.epi.org/press/union-workers-are-paid-11-2-more-and-have-greater-access-to-health-insurance-and-paid-sick-days-than-their-nonunion-counterparts-policymakers-must-strengthen-workers-ability-to-form-unions/) in wages than nonunionised peers (workers in the same industry and occupation with similar education and experience). - There is greater power of a collective voice to communicate to management dissatisfaction and frustrations. - Trade unions can negotiate much better terms and conditions on behalf of their members including more paid leave and more humane hours as well as ensuring safer workplaces. - There are [50% fewer](https://waronwant.org/news-analysis/ten-reasons-why-unions-are-important) accidents in unionised workplaces. - Unionised workers have more job security and stability. Trade union members are more likely to stay in their jobs longer, on average [five years](https://waronwant.org/news-analysis/ten-reasons-why-unions-are-important) more than non-unionised workers. - This stability is particularly important to ensure in the games development industry with the high levels of [fire and rehiring](https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.polygon.com/platform/amp/features/2016/12/19/13878484/game-industry-worker-misclassification).