"Our hearts go out to those affected at Sumo Digital by the recently announced redundancies."

IWGB have released a statement in response to the latest round of layoffs taking place in the games industry at Sumo Digital.

"We stand in solidarity with our colleagues, friends, and family who’ve been affected by the layoffs endemic to the games industry. We have a lot of experience responding to redundancies, if you need help please reach out.

Despite the games industry having a record high profit of £200bn globally in 2023, executives chose to make over 10,000 workers redundant. Halfway through 2024, 10,800 more workers worldwide were made redundant.

Workers put their love and passion into the games they create, and are the ones who do the work to get them out of the door. Executives put everyone who are a part of creating the games we love onto a spreadsheet, and then cut and optimise it for shareholders and short term gain. This cyclical pattern of redundancies undermines the quality of the games and the livelihoods of the workers in our industry.

We don’t need to accept this. A recent GDC State of the Industry report has 57% of developers in favour of unionising. The landscape is shifting. We will change this industry for the better.

We are the majority of the game industry and we have the strength to affect change. This change will not come from the goodwill of private investors deciding to make our lives better. It will come when we, the workers, stand together for our own wellbeing and use our collective power to force companies to make decisions that benefit us.

There are unions in other industries that have made successful strides in protecting workers’ rights and improving conditions for everyone, including those not in unions. It’s been proven to work time and time again for unionised industries, as demonstrated by the United Auto Workers, Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA in the US. We get stronger together in a union, and every new member builds that power.

Now is the time to make that stand, to reimagine the industry and take control of our work. Together we can stop this wave of mass redundancies and ensure a steady and fair wage for all. We are fighting for the rights of game workers, and we are campaigning in workplaces that don’t adhere to our demands.

Join our union and play a pivotal role in changing the lives of you and your colleagues for the better!"

For more information, please contact press@iwgb.co.uk

https://www.gameworkers.co.uk/