150-Game Discount Bundle Raises $57,000 for Videogame Workers 'Hardship Fund' (rockpapershotgun.com) 21
"An itch.io game bundle put together by Necrosoft Games and The United Videogame Workers-CWA union is a new way gamers can show their support for developers who have been let go amidst the ongoing video game industry labor crisis," writes Kotaku.
Launched Thursday, it's already raised $57,859 from 3,984 contributors. (Average contribution size: $14.52) The bundle is pay-what-you-want with a minimum purchase price of $10, offering DRM-free PC versions of games including A Short Hike, SkateBIRD, and my favorite game in the pack, Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure ... The bundle will be available through August 13.
The gaming blog Rock Paper Shotgun shares more details, starting with this quote from the bundle's page on itch.io: "Reports say 33% of the industry lost their jobs in the last two years, and the jobs they could fill are disappearing as CEOs try to replace them with AI. It's hard for companies to adjust to the new shape of the game industry, but even harder for the people they should be employing... To address this in some small way, we have created a bundle with almost 150 games. The proceeds of this bundle will go toward a hardship fund for those experiencing layoffs."
Games industry workers currently out of work or under-employed can apply to this fund, which is distributed by the United Videogame Workers, to help out with basic necessities like food and rent. As a note, this is only available to US and Canada-based devs, but there's an FAQ explaining who can apply for the fund.
Launched Thursday, it's already raised $57,859 from 3,984 contributors. (Average contribution size: $14.52) The bundle is pay-what-you-want with a minimum purchase price of $10, offering DRM-free PC versions of games including A Short Hike, SkateBIRD, and my favorite game in the pack, Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure ... The bundle will be available through August 13.
The gaming blog Rock Paper Shotgun shares more details, starting with this quote from the bundle's page on itch.io: "Reports say 33% of the industry lost their jobs in the last two years, and the jobs they could fill are disappearing as CEOs try to replace them with AI. It's hard for companies to adjust to the new shape of the game industry, but even harder for the people they should be employing... To address this in some small way, we have created a bundle with almost 150 games. The proceeds of this bundle will go toward a hardship fund for those experiencing layoffs."
Games industry workers currently out of work or under-employed can apply to this fund, which is distributed by the United Videogame Workers, to help out with basic necessities like food and rent. As a note, this is only available to US and Canada-based devs, but there's an FAQ explaining who can apply for the fund.
Don't spend it all in one place (Score:2)
Microsoft? (Score:3)
Why? Is this so that Microsoft doesn't have to pay them well enough? Or do they already make enough money for what the do?
Yeah, the scary future is the scary present (Score:2)
When do they get access to the fund? (Score:5, Interesting)
Videogame Workers 'Hardship Fund'
When do they get access to the fund? Because for many game studios the hardship is when actively employed in the game industry. When leaving the game industry that is when the hardship ends. I’m going with the all-too-common practice of taking advantage of young recent grads that think working in the game industry would be the coolest thing to do. Well, it is at a very very small number of studios, its not the typical experience.
Between 30 and 35,000 jobs lost (Score:3, Insightful)
Unions don’t stop AI replacement (Score:2)
shouldn't a union of people with expertise in the field be able to create some alternative?
Unions don’t stop automation and/or AI replacement. Ask the welders in the auto industry. Ask the grocery store checkout folks. Unions didn't prevent massive automation in the auto industry. Unions didn’t prevent massive self-serve checkout at the grocery store, the hardware store, etc. Unions didn’t stop a competitor from putting a factory in a right to work state where the competitor will gain a pricing advantage.
Re: (Score:1)
It's only been 3 days. Give it some time.
Re:Between 30 and 35,000 jobs lost (Score:4, Interesting)
This comment is very stupid for a lot of reasons.
1. Not every developer needs help
2. Not every developer wasn't able to find a new job
3. The intention is not to distribute money to every person that lost their job in the layoffs, it's to extend a lifeline to people who are struggling
4. The thing that would meaningfully change things is to implement strong labour laws, tax the wealth of the extremely wealthy, and make it easier to form unions. The number of roadblocks to unionizing have increased over the decades, which is one of many reasons there's been such an obvious, ongoing, inexorable transfer of wealth from the working class to the owning class.
When the government is in the pocket of these huge companies and actively make laws diminishing the power of workers, it's an obvious bad-faith question to ask why people don't do something about it.
I have lots of ways to meaningfully change things, but I can't buy a politician because I'm not a billionaire, so changing things take longer. Don't worry, though, we're making some progress despite that.
Wealth vs Consumption (Score:2)
tax the wealth of the extremely wealthy, and make it easier to form unions. The number of roadblocks to unionizing have increased over the decades, which is one of many reasons there's been such an obvious, ongoing, inexorable transfer of wealth from the working class to the owning class.
I understand wealth is easier to measure than consumption but other than that why are so many, possibly a majority of people so focused on the wealthy having to much wealth? Wealth is the means of production. Why do you care who owns it? Shouldn't your main concern be that the wealth we have is well used? And that we are creating more wealth to make future generations more productive? What you should care about is how much consumption people have. A house is wealth, it provides housing. Personally I think i
Wait a second (Score:3)
Aren't these developers paid a good salary, generally better than a large percentage of the population? What did they do with all that money? Why would they need a "hardship" fund?
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Depends on the studio and position. A very well paid senior programmer might make $150k-$170k in the US. But that's pretty much the top end of the scale. Salaries in the game industry are infamously low because it's so FUN. Aren't you grateful to have such a FUN job? It's FUN, be grateful that you make any money at all so you can be creative!
Designers make less, Artists make less. QA makes WAY less (which is a travesty, because we depend on them so much in the development cycle. As a programmer, I probably
Nice idea...golf claps all around... (Score:3)
It is a nice thought but nothing more than that. Not even enough for a bad cup of coffee each.
They don't look that enticing. (Score:2)
150 games, what is the download size, the installed size? I didn't see any information on the website. If they add up to 150 GB I'd be surprised. How many of them are relics of a game jam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]