Labour and migration in the games industry: circulation of workers and struggles across Brazilian and British contexts

The article analyzes how migration shapes the circulation of workers and struggles. The aim is to territorialize both the industry and meanings of work and collectivities for workers. In research on migration and the digital economy, the games industry has been underrepresented. The article builds on labour process theory framework and two case studies, with (1) Brazilian migrants working abroad and (2) workers from various parts of the world working in Britain, highlighting both the commonalities and the specificities of the circulation of the workforce and struggles. While the first case points out a migrant workforce dispersed around the world who experience difficulties as migrants while being considered a ‘skilled’ workforce, the second showcases how a country recruits migrants into the games industry and how workers of different nationalities work and organize themselves. Both cases reveal how territorialized the workforce is as well as desires and challenges in organizing.