Tabletop game workers win sector’s first union recognition deal

• Members of the IWGB Games Worker Union have secured the UK tabletop game industry's first union recognition at Rowan, Rook and Decard
• The landmark deal gives workers a framework to discuss pay, conditions of both staff and freelancers, the use of AI while aiming to make union membership more attractive to the wider workforce
• This tabletop game industry milestone follows IWGB members at ZA/UM, the studio behind Disco Elysium, securing the wider games sector's first union recognition agreement in October last year

Wednesday 12 August 2026: Members of the IWGB Game Workers Union have secured the UK tabletop game sector's first recognition deal, at Rowan, Rook and Decard (RRD), the company behind RPG (Role-Playing Game) titles including Eat the Reich, Hollows and Heart: The City Beneath.

The agreement will provide workers and management with a framework to negotiate on workplace-related issues including: pay and benefits; equality and working conditions; company policies on any future use of AI, LLMs or similar tools; and the treatment of freelance and contract workers. Workers and managers at RRD hope recognition will encourage current and future staff to join the union, and will promote unionisation more widely across an industry with a high proportion of freelancers.

This win for tabletop game workers at Rowan, Rook and Decard follows the announcement last year that IWGB members at ZA/UM secured the UK video game sector’s first ever union recognition deal. The union says these both mark important steps forward in protecting workers across the wider games industry throughout 2026 and into the future.

Elaine Lithgow, Rowan, Rook and Decard worker and IWGB Union representative, said: “This is a huge day for us! I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to shout from the rooftops that even a niche creative industry like TTRPGs, one defined by small teams and isolated freelancers, can still come together and support each other through good times and bad. This is just the beginning.

We live in turbulent times, where workers’ rights and creative industries are under threat. This new union ensures that worker voices at Rowan, Rook and Decard are heard. We hope that this will galvanise more TTRPG workers to follow in our footsteps. If you work in the UK TTRPG industry, reach out! Join us! We can do amazing things together, for this industry and community we love so dearly.”

Alex Levene, Rowan, Rook and Decard worker and IWGB Union representative, said: ”Whether small or large companies, in a fast-paced world of constant change and upheaval, it remains vital that workers come together to secure the best outcomes for themselves and their peers. We're grateful to everyone at the IWGB who has diligently supported us throughout this recognition process.

Bringing people together and building consensus is often hard work, but the opportunities and rewards that collective action can bring are consistently proven to be worth it. We’re very excited to be here, representing our colleagues, and working to grow the union during this exciting next step.”

Maz Hamilton, Founder at Rowan, Rook and Decard, said: “We're pleased and proud to recognise the IWGB as Rowan, Rook and Decard's union. Historically, being in a union gives workers better pay, more job security, and stronger rights at work -- all things we believe in very strongly, and want to support for our staff. We want to thank the IWGB, our newly minted union representatives, and the whole team for engaging in this process: we believe it will make us stronger as a team and as a business.”

ENDS

The Game Workers branch of the IWGB is the largest game worker union in the UK. It’s a worker-led, democratic trade union building worker power to improve our lives both at work and in our communities. We organise together as workers and students in games and interactive media. We include direct employees, contract, freelance, agency, or casual workers who make video games, board games, and TTRPGs and other interactive experiences.

For more information or interviews, please contact:

press@iwgb.co.uk

Ellie Butcher, (elliebutcher@iwgb.co.uk, +44 7883 887613)

Clara Hill (clarahill@iwgb.co.uk, +44 7472 709745)