European Video-Game Unions Unite To Challenge AI And Mass Layoffs

A coalition of six major video-game unions from across Western Europe has come together to condemn widespread layoffs, growing use of generative AI and persistent toxic workplace conditions across the industry. The group includes France's STJV, the UK's IWGB Game Workers, Spain's CGT, Italy's FIOM-CGIL, Germany's ver. di, and Game Workers Unite Ireland. Their joint move signals one of the strongest cross-border union alliances the gaming sector has seen so far.

The unions issued a multilingual statement saying that“game workers face universal challenges” as job security weakens and workplace voices are sidelined. They singled out mandatory return-to-office policies and the imposition of generative-AI tools as key issues undermining working conditions. The coalition noted that global companies are increasingly operating at scale across multiple countries - something they argue necessitates international union collaboration to protect workers' rights and job stability.

The alliance staged a demonstration outside the Paris office of a major publisher after the dismissal of 31 UK-based workers affiliated with IWGB. The union alleges those firings were acts of retaliation for organising, while the company claims they were due to breach of confidentiality. According to union representatives, that dispute epitomises systemic issues facing game-industry staff: a combination of shrinking job security, lack of transparency on layoffs, and pressure from AI-driven automation.

Industry-wide statistics make clear why unions are mobilising. According to a global survey conducted this year, roughly one in ten developers reported having lost their jobs over the preceding 12 months; in narrative roles, that proportion rose to nearly one in five. Many say layoffs stem from corporate restructuring and revenue decline, but also from shifts toward AI-powered content creation that threaten traditional creative roles.

The larger context shows that between 2022 and mid-2025, an estimated 45,000 jobs have been cut across the video-game industry worldwide. Major firms including long-established AAA studios - once considered secure employers - have not remained immune to the cuts.

The systemic unrest is hardly limited to a single country. In February 2025, STJV organised what was described as the first sector-wide strike by video game developers in France, spreading from Paris to Bordeaux and Rennes, and even spilling into a studio in Barcelona. The mass action came against a backdrop of industry contraction, plummeting demand, cancelled projects and an urgent call from workers for improved working conditions and employer accountability.

As voices from the gaming workforce grow louder, some publishers are seeing union activity gain traction. In the United States, for instance, the narrative-team at a leading studio voted to unionise in response to mass layoffs linked to their parent company's AI-driven restructuring. That development stands as an echo of what is unfolding in Europe - a growing belief that only organised collective action can challenge deep-rooted industry practices.

Union leaders say the new coalition is not just symbolic.“We are witnessing unprecedented international collaboration among game workers,” said a spokesperson for IWGB.“The sense of isolation and fear that has long persisted is giving way to a united front against the dominance of large corporations.” Another union chair added that the gaming sector's challenges“go beyond national borders”, and demand“a transnational response if we are to protect our careers and livelihoods.”

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