150-Game Discount Bundle Raises $57,000 for Videogame Workers 'Hardship Fund' (rockpapershotgun.com)
- Reference: 0184805818
- News link: https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/08/01/2240259/150-game-discount-bundle-raises-57000-for-videogame-workers-hardship-fund
- Source link: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/got-a-spare-10-net-yourself-almost-150-games-and-help-support-laid-off-game-devs-with-the-game-industry-hardship-fund-bundle
Launched Thursday, it's already raised $57,859 from 3,984 contributors. (Average contribution size: $14.52)
> The bundle is pay-what-you-want with a minimum purchase price of $10, offering DRM-free PC versions of games including [5] A Short Hike , [6] SkateBIRD , and my favorite game in the pack, [7]Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure ... The bundle will be available through August 13.
The [8]gaming blog Rock Paper Shotgun shares more details , starting with this quote from [9]the bundle's page on itch.io :
> "Reports say 33% of the industry lost their jobs in the last two years, and the jobs they could fill are disappearing as CEOs try to replace them with AI. It's hard for companies to adjust to the new shape of the game industry, but even harder for the people they should be employing... To address this in some small way, we have created a bundle with almost 150 games. The proceeds of this bundle will go toward a hardship fund for those experiencing layoffs."
>
> Games industry workers currently out of work or under-employed can apply to this fund, which is distributed by the [10]United Videogame Workers , to help out with basic necessities like food and rent. As a note, this is only available to US and Canada-based devs, but there's [11]an FAQ explaining who can apply for the fund.
[1] https://itch.io/b/3802/game-industry-hardship-fund
[2] https://necrosoftgames.com/
[3] https://uvw-cwa.org/
[4] https://kotaku.com/itchio-game-developer-hardship-bundle-necrosoft-games-layoffs-unionization-2000720782
[5] https://kotaku.com/the-bittersweet-journey-of-a-short-hike-1841525700
[6] https://kotaku.com/skatebird-puts-cinnamon-roll-birds-in-a-bleh-skateboard-1847696269
[7] https://kotaku.com/arranger-role-puzzling-adventure-review-puzzle-game-1851600269
[8] https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/got-a-spare-10-net-yourself-almost-150-games-and-help-support-laid-off-game-devs-with-the-game-industry-hardship-fund-bundle
[9] https://itch.io/b/3802/game-industry-hardship-fund
[10] https://uvw-cwa.org/
[11] https://uvw-cwa.org/hardship-fund-2026
Microsoft? (Score:3)
Why? Is this so that Microsoft doesn't have to pay them well enough? Or do they already make enough money for what the do?
Yeah, the scary future is the scary present (Score:2)
Artists? It's a video game. Probably need a 1/3 of what they needed before. The details don't especially matter. Coders? I can't code, but I bet you I can make an improved Balatro clone in a week or two. Marketing? Lulz.
When do they get access to the fund? (Score:3)
> Videogame Workers 'Hardship Fund'
When do they get access to the fund? Because for many game studios the hardship is when actively employed in the game industry. When leaving the game industry that is when the hardship ends. I’m going with the all-too-common practice of taking advantage of young recent grads that think working in the game industry would be the coolest thing to do. Well, it is at a very very small number of studios, its not the typical experience.
Between 30 and 35,000 jobs lost (Score:3)
And that's just developers. So this works out to $2 each. I get the motivation and sentiment but to really make a difference you need 4 more zeros. If you are a socialist and want to make a difference learn basic math including division and then figure out something that meaningfully changes things. Like if the studios are pure evil, create a coop studio or a coop publisher. I mean with all the questionable things the evil Capitalistic publishers do shouldn't a union of people with expertise in the field be able to create some alternative?
Unions don’t stop AI replacement (Score:2)
> shouldn't a union of people with expertise in the field be able to create some alternative?
Unions don’t stop automation and/or AI replacement. Ask the welders in the auto industry. Ask the grocery store checkout folks. Unions didn't prevent massive automation in the auto industry. Unions didn’t prevent massive self-serve checkout at the grocery store, the hardware store, etc. Unions didn’t stop a competitor from putting a factory in a right to work state where the competitor will gain a pricing advantage.
Re: (Score:1)
It's only been 3 days. Give it some time.
Wait a second (Score:3)
Aren't these developers paid a good salary, generally better than a large percentage of the population? What did they do with all that money? Why would they need a "hardship" fund?
Re: (Score:2)
generally-better-than-a-large-pc-of-the-population does not mean good-salary. For a good salary you'd have to be in the minority at the top, where statistics breaks down.
Nice idea...golf claps all around... (Score:2)
It is a nice thought but nothing more than that. Not even enough for a bad cup of coffee each.
Don't spend it all in one place (Score:2)
Although that would be hard not to do.