Not All Fun and Games: Videogame Labour, Project-Based Workplaces and the New Citizenship at Work by Marie-Josée Legault and Johanna Weststar (Concordia University Press, 2024)

Authors

Jelena Starcevic, ILR School, Cornell University

Abstract

NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES by Marie-Josée Legault and Johanna Weststar offers a timely and in-depth exploration of labour dynamics in the video game industry, shedding light on the labour relations and working conditions of those who create one of the most popular entertainment mediums in the world: video game developers. Rich empirical data collected over the span of fifteen years through surveying and interviewing video game developers is structured around four pillars of citizenship at work to present a comprehensive and complicated array of the economic, contractual, and social elements shaping the industry, and a nuanced portrayal of a diverse group of workers with varying levels of power, from industry stars to rank-and-file employees. Throughout the analysis presented in this book, the authors successfully demystify the existing industry narrative that obscures exploitative practises under the disguise of playfulness, creativity, and passion.

Recommended Citation

Starcevic, Jelena (2025) "Not All Fun and Games: Videogame Labour, Project-Based Workplaces and the New Citizenship at Work by Marie-Josée Legault and Johanna Weststar (Concordia University Press, 2024)," Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal: Vol. 45: Iss. 1, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2819-2567.1030
Available at: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cllpj/vol45/iss1/13