Remember me
The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) has launched a free 'good practice guide' to help demystify the contracts writers plying their trade in the video game industry might receive.
WGGB is a trade union for writers in the UK working in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, poetry, comedy, animation, and video games. Members also include emerging and aspiring writers, such as students and others without professional credits.
The union claims it has seen an increase in poor practices around writing contracts in recent years, with the UK game sector (like others around the world) facing widespread layoffs and financial challenges.
WGGB has launched 'Videogames writing contracts—a good practice guide' to combat issues it feels often "run parallel to industry contraction."
"Videogames writers can be employed under a variety of different contracts which can add to confusion around their rights and remuneration, and the guide leads games writers through the four different employment statuses: employee, freelance, both employee and freelance, or 'worker.' The aim of the guide is to help writers to achieve fair and equitable terms in the negotiation of their contracts," reads a statement on the WGGB website.
The guide includes an at-a-glance infographic (included below) that outlines the core differences between 'employee' and 'freelance' contracts to ensure writers fully understand which category they fall under.
WGGB stressed it cannot guarantee companies or studios will adhere to its recommendations but said it hopes the information provided will allow writers to push for "fair and equitable terms."
"As games writers, especially freelancers, we sign contracts with many different studios, each with their own format and caveats, so ensuring you protect your rights is key," said WGGB video games co-chair Florencia Minuzzi.
"We've pooled together our many years of combined experience navigating this area with the WGGB's legal resources to create easy-to-understand guidelines for industry newcomers and veterans alike. We hope these guidelines serve as a good starting point, giving writers the knowledge and confidence to discuss favourable terms with companies, starting off their relationship from a more equitable position."
