Marketplace Tech

Unionization efforts are shaking up the gaming industry


Listen Later

Unions have come to the video game industry. They started small at just one indie developer about a year ago, then those efforts started to spread. Workers at some of the biggest names in the business have started organizing — at Activision Blizzard and recently at ZeniMax, a company owned by Microsoft. This sudden upswell is shaking up an industry that has long been known for grueling hours, low pay and a workforce that is not especially diverse. So how did the union movement go from 0 to 60, and where is it headed from here? Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Nicole Carpenter, a senior reporter for Polygon, a gaming and entertainment news site. She recently wrote an explainer about unions in the industry. She said a turning point came in 2021 when California sued Activision for an alleged pattern of sexual harassment and discrimination, which set off a chain of investigations and lawsuits that brought the problems of the industry into the public eye.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Marketplace TechBy Marketplace

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

71 ratings


More shows like Marketplace Tech

View all
Marketplace Tech by Marketplace

Marketplace Tech

1,264 Listeners

WSJ Tech News Briefing by The Wall Street Journal

WSJ Tech News Briefing

1,646 Listeners

Marketplace Morning Report by Marketplace

Marketplace Morning Report

884 Listeners

Marketplace by Marketplace

Marketplace

8,641 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,874 Listeners

Marketplace All-in-One by Marketplace

Marketplace All-in-One

1,359 Listeners

Composers Datebook by American Public Media

Composers Datebook

10 Listeners

Piano Puzzler by American Public Media

Piano Puzzler

37 Listeners

Make Me Smart by Marketplace

Make Me Smart

5,494 Listeners

Bold Names by The Wall Street Journal

Bold Names

1,437 Listeners

The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

9,552 Listeners

This Is Uncomfortable by Marketplace

This Is Uncomfortable

3,595 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,427 Listeners

How We Survive by Marketplace

How We Survive

1,321 Listeners

Financially Inclined by Marketplace

Financially Inclined

82 Listeners

Everybody in the Pool by Molly Wood

Everybody in the Pool

221 Listeners

WSJ's Take On the Week by The Wall Street Journal

WSJ's Take On the Week

131 Listeners