Overcoming the Exploitation of Passion in Videogame Labor

In this book, Joshua Jackson examines how passion becomes weaponized in videogame production and what contextual issues people in the videogame production industry are facing. Using certain theorizations regarding, passion, bodies, assembly, and assemblage, this text wrestles with what can be done to manifest change in videogames.

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Overcoming the Exploitation of Passion in Videogame Labor: Passion Play examines the intersection of passion, precarity, and collocation to pinpoint where and how interventions can be made towards better working conditions. Jackson contends that videogames and passion are inextricably linked and explores this intrinsic link where passion is expected and valorized, be it in the context of play, work, or culture. Passion, Jackson argues, is the connective tissue that sews together the shared experiences that people all over the world will undertake through videogames, including that’s winning close matches, experiencing new worlds, and forging new friendships. This book interrogates the outcomes of when labour, videogames, and passion collide – work and play become inextricably linked, and suddenly a ‘passion for games’ becomes an insistent and expected ‘passion for work.’ This, Jackson ultimately posits, leads to the current reality of much of the videogame production industry, where passion is used as a workplace policing tool and a way to push workers to periods of extended work, or crunch periods. Through theorizations regarding passion, bodies, assembly, and assemblage, this text wrestles with what can be done to manifest real change in the videogame industry. Scholars of media studies, technology, and labour studies will find this book of particular interest.