Motion capture workers employed by the video game company are behind them NBA 2K and WWE 2K They have ratified their first employment contract in a move the IATSE union described as historic.
IATSE announced Tuesday that staff at 2K’s motion capture studio in Petaluma, California, have unanimously ratified a deal with management at parent company Take-Two Interactive. The crew union represents the studio’s stage technicians, engineers, animators, recording and sound specialists.
The new agreement sets the minimum wage, as well as annual wage increases and bonuses. The contract also stipulates work-from-home and leave policies, hiring and subcontracting language and an “enforceable promotions framework,” IATSE said. The contract also creates guardrails for the use of scanned images and artificial intelligence.
Matthew Loeb, IATSE’s international president, said in a statement that the deal “shows what workers can achieve when they stand together and bargain for the future of their craft.” “These workers made history when they organized themselves, and they have made history again by ratifying the first union contract for motion capture video game workers in the United States,” Loeb added.
Hollywood Reporter I have reached out to Take-Two Interactive for comment.
It’s a timely achievement for IATSE, which is once again participating in the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco as the association attempts to regulate more of the video game industry. Communications Workers of America has taken the lead in this area after unionizing at Blizzard Entertainment, id Software and other companies.
2K motion capture workers created their union after a National Labor Relations Board vote in November of 2024. At the time, the union said workers were seeking higher wages, better working conditions and greater job security as well as clarity on the responsibilities associated with certain job titles.
Negotiations went smoothly, according to unit member and 2K art animator Jose Gutierrez. “While collective bargaining is often characterized by friction, this experience was a nice departure from the norm,” he said in a statement. “The company has agreed to accelerate the agreement process.”
Theater technician Connor Bredbeck called the resulting deal a “victory” for the video game industry. “As layoffs continue to decimate the gaming industry, there is always more work to do, and 2K Mocap stands with any and all workers who are willing to take up the fight for their value,” he said in a statement. “This contract is not only a victory for our team, but for everyone involved in the game, even 2K.”
