The Game Workers' Bill of Rights

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This document was written with the input of video game workers over multiple town halls held in 2025 and 2026. Compiled and written by UVW-CWA, open for all workers to use.

Second Draft | September 2026

 

Workers are entitled to fundamental rights in the course of earning a living.

These include:

 

I. Standardized Credits

The right to be properly credited for the game worker’s labor, regardless of FTE, contract, or codev/exdev status.

  • Standardized credits with worker title/role inclusion
  • Live service credit updates
  • Right to be credited on projects even if work period ended before game release
  • Protection from credit removals or demotions

II. Compensation and Benefits

The right to proper and fair compensation, healthcare, and other benefits for all workers in the game industry.

  • Compensation transparency and consistency across race, gender, ability, nationality, and other protected statuses
  • Profit sharing
  • Residuals
  • Healthcare
  • Paid parental and bereavement leave
  • Retirement plans

III. Layoff and Firing Protections

The right to fair, humane, and just process during job change.

  • Standardized severance/comp packages
  • Standardized notice terms
  • Recall rights
  • Just Cause protections
  • Post-merger layoff moratorium
  • Appropriate time to gather portfolio material

IV. Contractor Protections

The right to equality and protections from exploitation for workers who are contracted.

  • Protection against misclassification
  • Equitable pay for similar work, and pay transparency
  • Contract duration terms
  • Protection against contract policy exploitation

V. Protections for Immigrant Workers

The right to protections from exploitation and equality for workers on a visa.

  • Commensurate compensation for location regardless of visa status
  • Protections against exploitation of visa workers
  • Guaranteed Fourth Amendment workplaces

VI. Anti-Discrimination Accountability

The right for every worker to be treated fairly in the workplace, regardless of race, gender, ability, nationality, and other protected statuses.

  • Clear code of conduct including orientation, racial, sexual and psychological harassment policy
  • Clear conflict resolution policy
  • Clear accountability for breaches of conduct
  • Accountable protections against retaliation
  • Disability accommodations during interview process and employment

VII. Company Leadership Accountability

The right to accountability for company leadership, and protections from consequences of poor management and direction.

  • Clear status updates and actionable feedback to workers
  • Leadership held accountable after mismanagement
  • Neutrality agreements for workers organizing a union

VIII. AI Protections

The right to protections from exploitative and oppressive AI policies.

  • No replacement of workers with AI
  • No compulsory AI usage mandates
  • Protections against work being fed to AI as training material
  • No AI use in recruitment or review processes

IX. Transparent Hiring Practices

The right to reasonable, fair, and transparent hiring practices.

  • Appropriate entry-level pipelines
  • Standardized and equitable hiring policies, including interview practices which respect and compensate the worker's time

X. Definition of Roles and Promotions

The right to clarity and fairness in roles, responsibilities, and career progression.

  • Standardized roles and titles
  • Career progression paths
  • Protections from responsibility creep
  • Availability of entry-level and junior roles

XI. Work-Life Balance Protection and Anti-Crunch

The right to a balanced working life that allows for proper time for hobbies, practices, and duties outside of work.

  • Worker-determined right to rest
  • Distinct paid sick and personal leave
  • Overtime pay for salaried workers
  • Standardized anti-crunch policy
  • Floating holidays for all religious observances

XII. Forced RTO and Remote Protections

The right to work remotely and accommodations for relocations.

  • No forced RTO
  • Equal compensation for in-office and remote workers
  • Equal responsibilities for in-office and remote workers
  • Equal growth opportunities for in-office and remote workers
  • Commensurate compensation for increased cost-of-living adjustment during relocation 

XIII. Non-Compete and Contract Protections

The right to protections for personal works, property, and free time outside of work.

  • Right to ownership of personal projects
  • No non-compete contracts
  • Portfolio rights for cancelled projects
  • No control over worker’s free time 

XIV. Public Harassment Protections

The right to protections against harassment, doxxing, and similar threats in the course of being a public-facing figure for a studio.

  • Right to privacy and support with reducing doxxable information
  • Support with enrollment in identity monitoring services
  • Assistance with legal representation
  • Hazard pay for consistent personal exposure

XV. Surveillance Protections

The right for workers to have psychological safety and autonomy to do their best work safely, securely, and unsurveilled.

  • Right to separation of personal and professional presence on social media
  • Right to conduct work without surveillance via badge monitoring, keylogging, etc
  • Freedom of association and right to organize in private