Worker Ownership
Ongoing coverage on Worker Ownership.
Latest coverage
State of Decay studio Undead Labs goes independent after Xbox restructuring, but lays off "a significant number" of the team in doing so
Undead Labs, the developer of the State of Decay series, has become an independent, worker-owned studio after being acquired by Microsoft in 2018. This transition comes with significant layoffs, with the studio stating "a significant number" of staff are departing. Despite the restructuring, development on State of Decay 3 continues for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, with a closed beta planned before the end of the year and a 2027 release target.
After "incomprehensible" Xbox layoffs, id Software producer says worker-owned studios are "the only path…
id Software producer Andrew Willis criticized Microsoft's recent Xbox layoffs, calling them an "incomprehensible decision" and suggesting that worker-owned studios are the only viable path forward for the game industry. Willis, who was involved in id Software's unionization efforts, believes that large publishers have proven to be poor stewards of the industry and that value should be owned by those who create it.
