Corporate and Self-Organization Culture of Video Game Industry Workers in the Context of Neoliberal Capitalism Crisis (2020–2024): Euro-Atlantic and Ukrainian Specifics

Анотація

This article examines corporate culture and worker self-organization in the video game industry during the period from 2020 to 2024, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine. Using descriptive-analytical methods, the study draws on case studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine, with a particular focus on cultural practices within corporations and among workers.In 2020, the video game industry experienced financial growth, as evidenced by statistical indicators and the release of new hardware. However, this trajectory was disrupted by external shocks such as pandemicinduced production cuts and, in Ukraine’s case, the Russian invasion. These events precipitated a broader production crisis across the global video game industry.Between 2020 and 2024, many gaming companies have adopted pragmatic strategies to mitigate the effects of the crisis. For example, the Ukrainian company GSC Game World relocated its staff to Prague. Some companies increased wages or concluded collective agreements with trade unions. Nonetheless, these measures coexisted with persistent structural issues such as overtime, precarious employment contracts, and rigid hierarchical structures that exclude workers from key decision-making processes, including the allocation of development budgets.Meanwhile, grassroots self-organization efforts have gained momentum in the Euro-Atlantic region. Game Workers Unite (GWU), for instance, has achieved notable successes, including settlement payments and the establishment of anti-harassment units at Riot Games, as well as securing permanent contracts for testers at Activision Blizzard. In the United Kingdom, thousands of creative workers have formed hundreds of cooperatives. Community initiatives such as “game jams” (e.g., the Ukrainian Visual Novel Jam) have also emerged as collaborative, open spaces for co-working and experimentation.The article concludes that corporate initiatives have largely failed to address the deeper issue of labor precarity. In contrast, worker-led efforts demonstrate a more effective model of collective response rooted in horizontal solidarity. In Ukraine, such initiatives are still nascent but show potential for broader development.

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