The leaders ofMicrosoft,Embracer Group,Epicand other industry giants have made swingeing cuts to their workforces.
“And I hear the craziest things.
And then oh shit, it doesn’t work any more.
Let’s fire everybody.
Oh, there’s a new one.
Let’s do it again.
Every single bloody time.”
Vincke’s point that industry layoffs are cyclical is worth stressing.
I don’t think it’s a good system."
‘How do we stop all this happening again?’
was a question I asked several developers and industry figures at GDC.
I’ve come back with a cross-section of responses, many of which reiterate the importance of unionisation.
“Will unionisation solve all of our problems?
No,” Vela continued.
“Can it support workers having a voice at the table?
There’s a “misconception” among employers that unions are just out to punish them, she said.
“What we’re trying to do is work together - we’re not here to tear it down.
We’re here to build it.
We’re here to make our jobs and our lives sustainable for the long term.
And with that is a love for our jobs in the company we’re working at.
And we want to work with employers to make that happen.”
And you know, I think the business sometimes can step in the way of that.
Top-down government regulation and oversight are needed to stop companies making disastrous bets in the first place.
“Yes, regulation would support it,” Vela told me.
I think those kinds of regulations could be helpful.
“We have the cyclical problem.
But we also have the new technology and fears of the implications of that new technology problem.
And we have the harassment problem.
I think to tackle the cyclical thing - for us, that might be the hardest at this point.
The latest round of generative AI tools are certainly proving an interesting test space for union action.
This is a privacy concern for people.
What about the implementation of robotics in offices?
There’s a lot of other technology.
It’s a moving target.”
“We’re working with a lot of stakeholders internationally, so that set standards across the board.
It creates a precarious working environment for everybody.”
“It’s not like it’s better, but it’s different - really different.
Everything is really equal, or at least we want to turn towards that as much as possible.”
Motion Twin have had their “dark” spells and staff departures over the years, Berthier noted.
It’s super tough.”
There are also practical challenges other companies don’t have to reckon with.
“For example, we cannot keep money inside the company legally.
Perhaps the experience of 2023 and 2024 will spark the creation of more studios like Motion Twin.
“And that’s so easily exploited, right?
It so often gets exploited.
Especially if you take a little bit of a longer term view.
You just have to be a little patient.”
