Amidst a backdrop of widespread layoffs, the encroaching spectre of generative AI, and high-profile workplace scandals, a new collective has emerged to hold the UK games sector accountable. The UK Games Industry Shadow Council (UKGISC) has formally launched, positioning itself not as a union but as a watchdog dedicated to challenging the status quo and ensuring transparency from the industry’s existing trade bodies.
The formation of the Council appears to be a direct response to a growing dissatisfaction among workers and smaller studios. While organisations like Ukie and TIGA have long represented the industry’s commercial interests, the UKGISC argues that the human element, the developers, artists, and educators, has been left vulnerable to market contractions and ethical oversights.
Phil Harris, Chair of the newly formed UKGISC, explained that the group was born from a shared sense of urgency.
Over the past few years the members of UKGISC have perceived a lack of action from the groups who have been set up to support us, both as individual workers, managers and the games companies that form the heart of the industry,” said Harris in a statement.
The Council’s mandate is broad, addressing everything from the cost-of-living crisis that is squeezing students entering the workforce to the controversial integration of artificial intelligence into creative workflows. The latter is a particularly sore point for many in the tabletop roleplaying and video game sectors, where the balance between technological efficiency and artistic integrity remains precarious.
Harris noted that the Council is ready to highlight both “good and bad practices” and will not shy away from critical stances, particularly in light of recent events at major studios. Harris told the press;
Especially in the light of recent events [such as those at BARB and Rockstar North] the need to consider the good and bad practices within the UK Games Industry is clear. UKGISC is a group of likeminded people who have given their personal time to come together because of this inaction,”
Structurally, the Council has been divided into seven distinct committees to tackle these complex issues, including an ‘Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Safeguarding Committee’ and a ‘Technology and Innovation Committee’.
Crucially, the UKGISC is not attempting to replace existing worker representation or unions. Instead, it aims to work alongside the newly formed Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) to flag issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.
We have to be clear that we are not a union, we are just a body of people who want the best for an industry we love,”
While some displaced talent may turn to independent publishing on platforms like Itch to escape corporate volatility, the Council aims to address systemic issues within the established ecosystem. Developers wishing to raise concerns are encouraged to contact the Council through its public channels, with a commitment that all reports will be handled with discretion and dignity.
Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash
