Games @sh.itjust.works nanoUFO @sh.itjust.works 1y ago

CD Projekt employees form a union

gamedevunion.pl Polish Gamedev Workers Union – a commission of OZZ Inicjatywa Pracownicza

36 comments

I am so happy for them and proud of them. This is the correct response to unnecessary layoffs or any other worker abuse. I hope more people in the industry will follow their example!
Well that's nice. Games industry is not known for treating it's employees fairly. Or even humanely. I don't know what the situation is in Poland, but I hope this is a positive development for them.
- Reports of months of crunch before Cyberpunk's release make the image pretty clear. There's bunch of small indies and some midsized contractor companies in Poland, but not many on AAA level. Techland, CDP and People Can Fly (I think they are independent from Epic again?) are the only ones I can think of. Oh 11bit maybe.
good news for developers means good news for players too so: good news all round
- I'm all for unions. But I'm not sure how it translates to good for players. Unions exist for fair wages and working environment, not direction of how games should be made.
  
  Edit: People sure seem to get the wrong impression with my question. As I said in the very first line, I am for unions. They're great and we should strive for fair working wages and hours, especially in 2023 where wages are stagnating while having massive inflation. We should have happy employees and I prefer my games made by happy employees. Failure to keep the wages up is creating shit ton of societal problems.
  
  Issue is the delusion people are presenting here. Unions are not magic. It doesn't automatically improve unrelated things. What people are missing is that there is no evidence the union has ever advocated for a better product. If one exists, despite my desperate attempt to find one, then it's clearly a fringe case. All the replies are making a huge logical leap of simply saying happy worker produces better product with no reasoning behind it. Unions never argue for better product. That's just not what unions do. It argues for the betterment of workers.
  
  Unionizing increases productivity for some sectors. But they're usually rare and only seen in specific industries. They generally have no significant impact on productivity based on research. If it straight up increased productivity and made better products, every company would love it. The argument is counter-logical. Companies do what is efficient. Even if we assumed individual productivity is increased, there's still no evidence that these individuals would have the capacity to change the direction in which the product is being made in the upper tier.
  
  We need unions. But unions aren't magic.
  
  Seems like people who are being fairly compensated in a comfortable work environment will make a better game than people being underpaid and overworked?
  
  Less crunch, more realistic deadlines, less unnecessary scope. Makes better games
  
  They have the ability to raise the standards of quality of the finished product.
  
  not direction of how games should be made
  
  Of course unions can and do have more power in the direction of the game. Employees can also voice concerns to managers and owners without the fear of a bullshit termination. They're pretty awesome for everyone.
  
  I love how this thread grouping is essentially argueing that the ends justify the means. Yeah, lets give a pass to companies in the name of capitalism.
  
  "How can I make this about me?"
  
  Somehow they think less work means more game. I dunno, we're way too deep into a circle jerk to hear any other opinions. Good for you to actually speak the obvious. Unions actually cure cancer too.
Finally, some gaming news that are not about layoffs💪
Not just at CD Projekt. This is a trade union!
good for them!! glad to see more and more places forming unions these days
Omg that's so important.
That's great, I hear CD Projekt has some real problems with overworking their employees.

Edit: (right before cyberpunk released)

Employees at CD Projekt Red, the Polish studio behind the game, have reportedly been required to work long hours, including six-day weeks, for more than a year.
They could sense the layoffs coming

36 comments