France’s biggest game industry union puts together a ‘Grève Bundle’ to support striking workers

Workers in France’s videogame industry took part in a nationwide one-day strike yesterday, and to help cover their lost wages the Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) union has put together a Grève {“Strike”) Bundle on Itch.io, offering a mix of more than 50 games, digital books, and other material for $10.

The strike was in protest of “layoffs and exhausting working conditions” in the game industry, and saw more than 1,000 people take part across the country. While there have been strikes at individual French studios in the past, this is apparently the first-ever industry-wide strike, according to an RFI report, and comes as the industry continues to grapple with layoffs, studio closures, and other labor disputes. As of 2022, there were 580 game studios in France.

The STJV was somewhat more pointed in its description of the game industry, calling it a “corporate circus” in a call to strike issued in January. It also issued four “highly practical” demands, which it said “come in response to decades of corporate mismanagement, opacity and denial of workers’ suffering:”

• Preservation of jobs, the cancellation of layoffs and the accountability of decision-makers who must first make sacrifices themselves when their companies face difficulties.
• Companies’ full transparency about their financial situation and economic health, so that workers can plan their future, and profit sharing with workers.
• Consideration for work-related health and personal life, through work reorganisation and the reduction of work hours.
• Direct participation of workers in decision-making at their companies in order to avoid management errors and control the proper use of private and public funding.

The union also said that, “as this is a national strike call, no action is necessary to go on strike: just don’t go to work.” All very French, indeed, and in the wake of the strike it called for “an even wider movement” to follow.

“Unionise, go on strike, gain new rights!” the union wrote on Bluesky. “Together, we will win ✊”

The GG25 Grève Bundle is meant to raise funds for the STJV’s strike fund, which helps compensate striking workers for their loss of income. The theme of the bundle—no surprise here—is “strike,” and in keeping with the whole “according to your ability” thing, there are three tiers at $1, $5, and $10, although you can kick in more if you want to do a solid for workers.

While there aren’t any real blockbusters in the lineup, Coldridge looked very promising when we checked out its demo last year, and many years ago (it originally released in 2013) we were quite taken by Tetrobot and Co. Off the top of my head, Blocks That Matter, Minami Line, The Purple Hike, and Flipon look like they might be cool too if you enjoy deeply indie games, and I like Phoenix WRONG just because the title makes me laugh.

STJV said the previous edition of this bundle raised $1,500 with an average donation of $11 (the top-tier bundle price is $10 but), and with two weeks to go this bundle has blown way past it, earning more than $28,000 and an average contribution of over $15. The Grève Bundle on Itch.io will be available until February 28.