First Industry-Wide Video Game Workers Union Launches in North America

The United Videogame Workers-CWA offers a direct-join model to address layoffs, job security, and systemic issues in the gaming industry.

The United Videogame Workers-CWA (UVW-CWA) was officially launched at the 2025 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
This is the first industry-wide union for video game workers in the US and Canada, allowing individuals to join without traditional unionization barriers.
The union's first campaign focuses on combating widespread layoffs, with over 25,000 industry jobs lost in the past two years.
UVW-CWA aims to unite workers across all roles, including freelancers, contractors, and laid-off employees, to build solidarity and address systemic challenges.
Key priorities include tackling crunch culture, inequality in hiring, healthcare for contractors, and the impact of generative AI on workers’ roles.