Hyper Light Drifter studio Heart Machine voluntarily recognises union

Indie developer Heart Machine has voluntarily recognised a union that has been formed at the Hyper Light Drifter studio.

In a post on the Communications Workers of America (CWA) website, the organisation wrote that staff at the company had formed a wall-to-wall union. The Hollywood Reporter writes that this bargaining unit comprises 13 staff.

Staff initially told management of their intention to unionise in February and asked for voluntary recognition at the time.

“I decided to get involved in organising my studio because I’ve seen so many peers in the industry stand up to protect the craft we all care so deeply about. Watching that momentum grow made me realise that if we love this work, we have to protect it, especially now,” gameplay tools engineer and CWA Local 9003 member Steph Aligbe said.

“Our union is proud that our studio chose to voluntarily recognise our union and live up to its high-road labour values, and we look forward to working on a first contract that safeguards our workplace.”

In a statement to Game Developer from CWA, Aligbe also said: “There are fewer opportunities to make games the way we used to, and the entire media landscape is crowded and constantly competing for people’s attention. The only way to make something that really stands out is when a team is able to pour their time, care, and creativity into it together.”

Heart Machine has made three rounds of layoffs in recent memory; in 2024, the company let go an undisclosed “portion” of staff, before a second wave of redundancies hit 13 months later. Within weeks, the studio made another round of layoffs, 12 days before the release of the Devolver Digital-published Possessor(s).

The formation of a bargaining unit at Heart Machine follows the CWA helping almost 4,000 staff unionise across Microsoft’s line-up of studios, including Id Software, Bethesda and Blizzard.