Staff at Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher studio CD Projekt forming a union

Employees at Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt are forming a union in an effort to characterize and supply a voice for “all Polish gamedev staff” whereas enhancing business circumstances, after round 9% of the corporate’s improvement studio CD Projekt Purple had been laid off earlier this 12 months.

With the event of Cyberpunk 2077 wrapping up and the following entry in The Witcher saga within the works, workers on the RPG game maker have shaped a union that’s open to all Polish recreation builders. The Polish Gamedev Staff Union (PGWA) comes just a few months after the CD Projekt Purple layoffs, with the aim of “creating video games in a steady, honest, various, and wholesome setting.”

The PGWA says it “Began speaking about unionizing after the 2023 wave of layoffs when 9% of Purple (that’s roughly 100 individuals) was let go.

“This occasion created an incredible quantity of stress and insecurity, affecting our psychological well being and resulting in the creation of this union in response. Having a union means having extra safety, transparency, higher safety, and a stronger voice in instances of disaster,” the PGWA website says.

The videogame business has been hit closely by layoffs just lately with Wolf Among Us 2 studio Telltale, Fortnite maker Epic Games, and Sega’s Creative Assembly all trying to cut back workers.

The PGWA Union is a part of the nationwide Polish Commerce Union Staff Initiative, giving recreation builders entry to authorized help, expertise, and a big community whereas nonetheless having the ability to independently function inside the videogame business.

As of proper now the union desires to assemble extra members and has reached out to the CD Projekt board to start out a dialogue, because the PGWA is at present nonetheless in a trial interval, and thus not legally established, till round mid-December of 2023.

Whereas the PGWA is open to all Polish recreation builders, the union has famous that CD Projekt workplace-specific advantages received’t apply to non-CD Projekt staff “till you collect a big sufficient group for us to ascertain our fee in your office as properly.”

It’s value noting that the union applies to all CD Projekt staff, not simply these within the game-making arm of the corporate at CD Projekt Purple.

The PGWA’s formation comes as a response to this 12 months’s CD Projekt Red layoffs, when CD Projekt CEO Adam Kiciński mentioned, “There’s no simple technique to say this, however immediately we’re overstaffed,” as round 100 staff would slowly be let go.

“This is not going to be rapid as some workers might be let go as late as Q1 2024 however, within the spirit of transparency, we’ve chosen to share the knowledge now,” Kiciński added. “We would like crew members to have ample time to course of and modify to the change, and we’ve additionally made positive to supply everybody a complete severance package deal.”

PCGamesN has contacted the PGWA and can replace this story with any additional feedback.