COVID-19 (coronavirus) is a pandemic that affected all of us. People who work in the gaming industry are suffering layoffs as well, just like any other industry. That’s why Game Workers Unite International has issued a statement about the current situation. In brief, the organization is calling for more support for the workers in the video games industry. Which everyone who can should support, especially big companies.
Game Workers Unite: “Staff are going through hell”
In a statement that was published on Twitter, the organization said the following: “Yes, video games are and will be a crucial source of joy and entertainment for millions of people right now, during this difficult time. Yes, we encourage that, we support that – games are there to release pain, inspire cooperation, increase bonding between different generations, or sometimes, and that’s okay, just to pass time. And yet – there’s a huge disparity of job security between different roles, between different parts of the world”.
The most important part of the statement was the following, which acknowledged what’s going on during this crisis.
Even if most devs and artists are safe, the people that are making the games’ production and release happen are going through hell right now. – QA testers, event organisers, hardcopy packaging and retailer staff, workers maintaining servers or shipping of the games. Let alone the incredible carers of our office spaces – cleaners, caterers etc. We are hearing stories of layoffs and forced unpaid leave in these sectors. We want to encourage everyone to use their voices to call out the companies and regions that are doing this.
How to help?
As Game Workers Unite said above, to help you need to use your voice to call out the companies. If you can support the developers financially, we encourage you to contact the organization by visiting their official website.