'If we love this work, we have to protect it:' Heart Machine workers secure voluntary union recognition
Employees at Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash developer Heart Machine have unionized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
The wall-to-wall union comprises 13 frontline employees and has been voluntarily recognized by the LA-based studio.
The news comes months after Heart Machine laid off an undisclosed number of employees after ending development on Hyper Light Breaker with the title still in early access.
In a statement sent to Game Developer, the CWA explained a supermajority of workers at the studio asked management to voluntarily recognize the union in February 2026. Leadership agreed to the request, paving the way for emlployees to organize under the CWA banner.
Heart Machine union members will join CWA Local 9003. In an email exchange with Game Developer, union members said it's more vital than ever for developers to protect their craft.
"There are fewer opportunities to make games the way we used to, and the entire media landscape is crowded and constantly competing for peoples attention," said Steph Aligbe gameplay tools engineer at Heart Machine and CWA Local 9003 member. "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."
Union members are currently in the process of determining their bargaining priorities but intend to ask for provisions that will help safeguard their work-life balance, preserve creative autonomy, and deliver stability and job security.
The long-term hope is for union members to be able to engage in constructive dialogue with studio leadership to improve working conditions to ensure the whole team can thrive.
“The best video games come from teams of really talented people bringing their different experiences together to build something theyd want to play themselves," said Cameron Hughes, senior environment artist at Heart Machine and CWA Local 9003 member.
"Without everyone at the studio working in tandem, pieces of the vision get lost and the game suffers. Protecting that kind of creative collaboration is really important to us, and forming a union is one way were making sure we can keep doing our best work."
Unionization continues to gather pace across the game industry. The CWA estimates that almost 4,000 workers have organized under is banner over the past few years. That wave includes the formation of unions at notable Microsoft subsidiaries such as Blizzard Entertainment and ZeniMax Media.
Aligbe said watching their peers across the video game industry rally together to secure better working conditions encouraged the team at Heart Machine to unionize.
"I decided to get involved in organizing my studio because Ive seen so many peers in the industry stand up to protect the craft we all care so deeply about," they added. "Watching that momentum grow made me realize that if we love this work, we have to protect it, especially now."
