March 1, 2026 at 3.00pm – 4.30pm
Haymarket House and Online
Game Worker Solidarity: Organizing in the Games Industry
Since the formation of GWU (Game Workers Unite) in 2018, there has been a wave of unionization in the games industry. As this workers’ movement spread and developed, game workers have sought to unionize in different local contexts, involving a range of different collective actions.
The panel will also discuss the Game Worker Solidarity (GWS) project, a collaboration between academics and game workers, particularly seeking to collect and preserve an emerging history of game worker organizing. The GWS project maps and documents collective actions taken by game workers and is relaunching with an updated website and database, including detailing layoffs in the industry.
The panel will discuss different examples of game worker organizing, exploring the relationship to the labour process, forms of collective action, employer responses, and unionization in the games industry. The aim is to reflect on the organizing so far, future horizons, and what can be learnt for workers in organizing in other sectors.
**This in person event will also be live-streamed through Haymarket Books. Register through Ticket Tailor to receive a link to the virtual event on the day of the event.**
**We ask all attendees wear masks in the event space during the program for the health and well-being of the speakers and other guests.**
Speakers:
Austin Kelmore has worked in the video games industry for the past 18 years and co-founded the IWGB Game Workers Union, Game Worker Solidarity, and No Games For Genocide. He actively organizes in all three groups to improve the games industry and the world at large.
Sarah Elmaleh is an actor, voice director and games performance consultant driven by a passion for playful collaboration. She is also a dedicated advocate for industry sustainability for actors and game developers alike, and served as Chair of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee throughout SAG-AFTRA's 3-year negotiations and 11-month strike for generative AI protections.
Starting out in indie games like Gone Home, Sarah is best known for roles in Helldivers 2 (Service Technician), Hi-Fi Rush (Korsica), Fortnite (Cube Queen), and Gears 5 (Lizzie Carmine), voiced the female version of the player character in BioWare's Anthem, and has provided additional voices in games like The Last of Us Part II, Spider-Man: Miles Morales and God of War Ragnarok. She has directed performance for AAA megahits (Call of Duty, Fortnite) and impactful indies (IGF 2024 nominee The Wreck, Tribeca Games Award winner 2023 Goodbye Volcano High).
Her consulting work educates and connects developers with industry-standard performance communities and best practices, from navigating union compliance to casting and recording. She has taught game development students about working with actors (USC, NYU), and helps acting students adapt to games-specific challenges (Queer Vox). She has also programmed, produced, and juried games festivals and events (Games for Change, IGF, IndieCade), serving for many years as director and cohost of the IndieCade Awards. She is one of six hosts, alongside game devs and academics, of The Secret Lives of Games podcast.
Zeke is an Actor and former Navy Test Pilot whose performance credits span film, television, and all genres of voice acting. He is known for his roles in video games such as Call of Duty, DC Dark Legion, and The Callisto Protocol, and Animated series such as Boss Baby, and Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda. He can also be seen in tv shows like SWAT and CSI, and feature films like My Dead Friend Zoe. Zeke volunteers at SAG-AFTRA in multiple areas and leverages his experience in military acquisition to develop contracts and engage in negotiations to help union actors thrive in today’s media environment.
Zeke loves video games, Arsenal Football Club, and is learning to dance Argentine Tango.
Keythe Farley is a writer/ director/ actor who lives in Los Angeles.
As an actor, Keythe has a long list of commercial, animation, video game and promo credits. He’s best known as Thane Krios in the MASS EFFECT series of video games, Kellogg in FALLOUT 4 and Eruptor in SKYLANDERS. Keythe can be heard as Santa Claus in the Christmas special ALIEN X-MAS on Netflix.
Keythe is also a well-known Voice Over Director with animation credits that include, RUGRATS ADVENTURE TIME and FRIGHT KREWE. He is also a prolific voice director of video games including GOD OF WAR, MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2, CALL OF DUTY, FINAL FANTASY XV, ASGARD’S WRATH 2 and the SKYLANDERS series of games.
Keythe is also the co-author of BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL which won the NYC Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, and recently had a revival production at New York City Center.
From the blank page to the finished product, Keythe is a committed and experienced storyteller who understands what makes stories work.
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This event is sponsored by Haymarket Books. While all of our events are freely available, we ask that those who are able make a solidarity donation in support of our important publishing and programming work.