The movement to unionize the gaming industry landed a big win today. Workers at the Swedish strategy game publisher Paradox Interactive have secured a collective bargaining agreement with the company. This will give workers a larger say in how they're treated, and how the company is run.
While efforts to unionize are often met with pushback from employers, like when Delta encouraged its staff to buy video games instead of paying union dues, it seems like Paradox Interactive is completely onboard. The company actually announced the agreement through an official press release, a medium usually reserved for announcing new games.
In the press release, Marina Hedman, Paradox's head of human resources, said that the company was proud "to add our name to the roster of companies who support unionization.” The agreement will mostly codify the existing benefits that workers at the company already receive, making sure that perks like parental leave can't be stripped away.
As of now, the collective bargaining agreement will only apply to workers at Paradox's Swedish locations. However, the company said it was open to working out a similar agreement with the company's American studios. Unionizing these locations will likely be popular, as a recent study showed nearly 50 percent of developers were in favor of unionizing.
There has long been a push for more union representation in the games industry, mostly as a way to combat the mistreatment of workers. The games industry is notorious for poor labor practices, like unpaid overtime and crunch periods. This had lead to prominent figures like Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders to come out in support of unionization. However, most major studios have yet to do so.