News/Research

Bo Ruberg on the Precarious Labor of Queer Indie Game Makers Reprinted in TV & Media

11 Feb, 2020

Bo Ruberg on the Precarious Labor of Queer Indie Game Makers Reprinted in TV & Media

Bo Ruberg's article, "The Precarious Labor of Queer Indie Game-making: Who Benefits from Making Video Games 'Better'?" was included in the special December 2019 issue of annual journal Television and New Media.

According to the abstract:

This article looks at issues of precarious and exploited labor surrounding contemporary queer independent video game making. In recent years, there has been a marked rise in indie games made by and about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. These games and their creators are commonly lauded for inspiring change in the mainstream game industry and making the medium of video games more diverse and therefore “better.” However, this cultural narrative obfuscates the socioeconomic challenges faced by many queer indie game-makers.

You can read the entirety of Bo's article here.

See the entire table of contents for the special issue, "Contested Formations of Digital Game Labor," here.