The United States Department of Labor is in the process of hosting the Workers’ Voice Summit, which is a three-day event in which representatives from a wide variety of industries meet to address issues with their federal counterparts. The video game industry is currently under a lot of scrutinies due to a regular stream of allegations of abuse, harassment, and terrible working conditions. Many game developers believe unionization is the only way to fix the industry’s issues.
They may be correct, but there is still a need for government control. Amber La Macchia, who works at Activision and is a senior QA tester, claims that this is the case. In an interview with Polygon, she discussed the alarming incidence of crunch within the business. She urged the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to step in and examine the matter.
According to La Macchia, there is a widespread misconception that crunch is a natural and inescapable part of life or that whining about crunch is strange in the face of other injustices as if it were a trivial matter; yet, crunch destroys people’s lives. Because our industry is still in its infancy, we do not have to deal with this particular challenge, and the fact that it is still in its infancy also means that things are not set in stone.
The term “crunch” has frequently been used to refer to one of the most problematic parts of the video gaming business. Although many game designers have spoken out against crunch to put an end to it, it still appears to be widespread in some development firms. While speaking in her capacity as a member of the Communications Workers of America, La Macchia stated that this is something that OSHA should most certainly be concerned with.
Compared to many other businesses in the United States, the video game industry is relatively recent. Regarding health and safety matters [within the video game industry], OSHA does not have a powerful presence. One of the most important things I would like to see accomplished is a thorough examination, training for issues related to health and safety, and laws.
