The Game Workers branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union has issued an open letter to Labour MPs, condemning its exclusion from the recently formed UK Video Games Council.
Published on July 31, the open letter, addressed Labour MPs Sir Chris Bryant, minister for creative industries, arts and tourism, and Charlotte Nichols, chair of APPG for video games and esports, and criticised the exclusion of the union and charitable organisations from its membership despite “an ongoing crisis in the sector involving mass layoffs, poor oversight, and unregulated AI outsourcing.”
Set up in July 2025, the UK Video Games Council is a new organisation established to “work in partnership with the government to support the growth, innovation, and international reach of the UK video games and interactive entertainment industry.”
Alongside joint chairs Jason Kingsley, CEO of Rebellion Games, and Nick Button-Brown, chair of Outright Games, inaugural members of the council include UKIE CEO Nick Poole, JECO co-founder Emily Bailey, and TIGA CEO Dr Richard Wilson.
But IWGB Game Workers has expressed its “disappointment” in 13 of the council’s 14 members being employed by companies with headquarters in London and the South of England, describing the composition as “clearly unrepresentative of game workers across the country.”
“Notably, no trade unions, no worker representatives, and no grassroots initiatives have been included in the body’s composition,” the letter reads.
“Additionally, this exclusion contradicts the government’s own pledges. The Fair Pay Agreements in social care involved union consultation, and the Prime Minister has repeatedly emphasised the need for “partnership with workers” to rebuild industries.”
The letter also criticizes the inclusion of representatives working for groups that “are actively investing in automated software and AI applications to ‘empower’ developers and ‘optimise’ modes of production.”
“In reality, such ‘empowerment’ and ‘optimisation’ risks replacing genuine creativity with the mediocrity of algorithms, while compounding an ongoing crisis related to technological displacement and poor regulation,” the letter continues. “A trend that has already led to thousands of game workers losing their jobs.”
IWGB Game Workers go on to list four recommendations for the Video Game Council: ensuring better regional representation, expanding council membership to include relevant UK charities, adding an IWGB-nominated member to the council, and publicly addressing the union’s concerns.
“We are incredibly disappointed by the Labour government’s decision to seek advice from such a narrow segment of our industry,” said IWGB Game Workers chair, Spring McparlinJones, in a press release.
“It’s our belief that one of the biggest problems facing our industry today is the rate at which people leave it. In order to fix that problem, you have to be willing to listen to the voice of the workers, a voice that is not yet represented in this council. It’s our firm view that we could be that voice.”
