The French video game industry is on the brink of the abyss, and is suffering its worst social crisis in more than 20 years. Since 2024, we counted, among others:

• The liquidation of Mi-Clos Studio,
• The liquidation of Starbreeze Paris,
• The closure of Microïds Studio Paris,
• Layoffs at Don’t Nod,
• The hiring freeze, layoffs and liquidation of Spiders ;
• The liquidation of Nacon Tech ;
• The closure of Unity Paris ;
• Layoffs followed by the closure of Leikir Studio ;
• The liquidation of Build a Rocket Boy France…

And, as we are releasing this call for strike, bosses are trying to destroy even more jobs with:

• A plan to lay off 200 workers at Ubisoft’s HQ in Saint-Mandé,
• A plan to lay off workers at Cyanide, with the planned closure of Big Bad Wolf,
• A plan to lay off most workers at Kylotonn,
• A plan to lay off workers at Nacon,
• A plan to lay off workers at Quantic Dreams,
• A plan to lay off workers at Eden Games,
• The judicial restructuration of Midgar Studio,
• Two waves of layoffs already announced at Don’t Nod in 2026…

It total, more than 1000 jobs have been destroyed or are threatened in the very short term. And these lists are far from complete. Many “smaller” companies disappear without a trace, and positions that are left empty indefinitely are not counted. As of now, we are also unable to evaluate the domino effect this crisis will have on contractors, freelancers and specialised companies. But we know it will be devastating.

At the same time, fights for more transparency and democracy at work, an absolute necessity to ensure the survival of companies, keep on going at Amplitude, Arkane, Ubisoft and many other less famous companies. The last few years have shown us that fanatical opacity from companies is always the first step before layoffs and liquidation.

They want to kill video games: not on our watch!

Whether by gambling blindly on projects, following doomed trends, refusing to improve production methods or opposing workers just for the sake of it, bosses have decided to scuttle the industry they’ve been siphoning for decades.

We must reject their fatalism and idiotic apathy. We can’t let our industry be murdered in front of us without reacting.

Workers have been souding the alarm for years over the dangers caused by our bosses’ management, and have been offering solutions.

Everywhere in video games, we hear cries of solidarity from the workers who make games what they are. Video games can’t exist without us. We can fight on and, more importantly, we can win.

Rallying around the ongoing fights on May 27th

The STJV is calling for a national day of strike action on Wednesday, May 27th 2026. We refuse to give in to our bosses’ fatalism and attempts at rejecting all accountability, and are asking:

• that our bosses take responsibility for their actions, if needed by quitting their positions, which they have shown are useless,
• that all planned layoffs be cancelled,
• that all decisional power be handed to workers, as they are the only persons competent enough to produce video games.

Let’s use this day of strike to meet up, break isolation, build solidarity and write demands. In other words, to organise the ongoing and future struggles.

This date matches with the final reunion on the outrageous layoffs at Kylotonn. These layoffs are cowardly driven remotely by Nacon, which already gutted and liquidated Spiders and Nacon Tech on top of planning more layoffs in the group, at Big Bad Wolf, Cyanide and at Nacon directly.

Workers at Kylotonn are inviting all video games workers, including the unemployed ones, pensioners and students to take part in their strike picket in Paris, at 96 rue Orfila, starting at 10 am on Wednesday 27, to demand the cancellation of the company’s despicable layoffs plan.

We also call on everyone to answer in numbers the future calls and demands from workers at Quantic Dream, Cyanide, Big Bad Wolf, Midgar, Amplitude, Arkane…

This call covers the STJV’s field of action in the private sector, and therefore applies to any person employed by a video game publishing, distribution, services and/or creation company – whatever their position or status and whatever their company’s area of activity (games, consoles, mobile, serious games, VR/AR, game engines, marketing services, streaming, derivative products, esports, online content creation, etc.) – as well as to all teachers working in private schools in video game-related courses. As this is a national strike call, no action is necessary to go on strike: just don’t go to work.