UK Games Industry Shadow Council Launches to Monitor Industry Practices

scottishgames

4 months ago

A new collective, the UK Games Industry Shadow Council (UKGISC), has been formally announced, positioning itself as a body dedicated to reviewing and challenging current practices within the UK games sector.

The formation of the group is described as a direct response to a perceived lack of accountability and transparency from existing organisations regarding current industry pressures, including job market contraction, the impact of AI, and recent high-profile disputes at major studios.

SGN spoke to Phil Harris, Chair of UKGISC, about the Council’s purpose, its structure, and how it intends to interact with the existing games ecosystem.

The Creation and Purpose of the UK Games Industry Shadow Council

Harris explained that the impetus for the group came from a shared sense of urgency among its founding members, who include educators, recruiters, company owners, and workers.

Over the past few years the members of UKGISC have perceived a lack of action from the groups who have been set up to support us, both as individual workers, managers and the games companies that form the heart of the industry.

With a growth in concern about new technology like AI, the number of students being fed into a shrinking market due to the cost-of-living crisis, and concerns about the treatment of staff through a range of issues, it is important to have a group who is willing to take some action.

He clarified that recent, high-profile events have further underscored the Council’s mandate to act.

Especially in the light of recent events [such as those at BARB and Rockstar North] the need to consider the good and bad practices within the UK Games Industry is clear. UKGISC is a group of likeminded people who have given their personal time to come together because of this inaction.

Working With The Games Industry

The Shadow Council’s strategy centres on engaging with both the new Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) and existing sector bodies.

Given the recent formation of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) who will move their attention to the games sector soon, we see an ample opportunity that our diverse Council… can help to identify the good and bad practices we see across the industry and make CIISA aware of those practices.

Harris was also clear that the Council is prepared to be critical, but always in a measured manner.

In doing so, we hope to work with the trade bodies already active in the sector as well as the Videogames Council, to make employment in the sector secure for the employed and employers alike. We’re not afraid to take a stance we feel is right, but that stance will be well considered and discussed.

Structure and Support for Developers

Harris emphasised that the Shadow Council is not intended to replace existing worker representation.

We have to be clear that we are not a union, we are just a body of people who want the best for an industry we love… Our key aim is to keep people informed about what is happening in the industry as a whole.

To address its wide mandate, the Council has been broken into seven distinct committees:

Executive Core
Transparency and Accountability Committee
Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Safeguarding Committee (EDI & Safeguarding)
Industry Relations and Partnerships Committee
Education and Research Committee
Creative and Production Committee
Technology and Innovation Committee

Developers wishing to raise concerns or flag beneficial practices can contact the Council via their public email or LinkedIn channel.

We want to understand just how many underlying issues are out there… We want to make clear that whatever is brought to our attention via the Shadow Council’s email address will be dealt with using discretion, dignity and respect. As with any Shadow Council, we act in order to represent the sectors and people who we feel might have been missed, to ensure as full a picture as possible.