Work, culture and temporality in the digital games industry

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34024/csr.2025.61.2.17396

Keywords:

Digital labor, Digital games, Culture, Neoliberalism

Abstract

Work in the digital games industry is crossed by trends inscribed in the contemporary world of labor, presenting a particular combination of culture, subjectivity and temporality. Belonging to one of the most highly skilled sectors of digital labor, it shows new ways of extracting value in playful, culturally motivated work environments marked by a diffuse temporality, mixing work and free time. In this context, there is an extension and intensification of the working day, exemplified by the phenomenon of crunch time. Using literature on work practices in the digital games industry, as well as excerpts from semi-structured interviews conducted with workers in this industry, this article reflects, based on a materialist critique of labor, on the concept of precariousness in digital labor and the professional life that is being gestated under neoliberalism, as well as presenting some of the dilemmas posed by this form of flexible accumulation for the organization of these workers. 

Author Biography

  • André Campos Rocha, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais - PUC/MG

    André Campos Rocha holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of São Paulo (USP) and PhD in Social Sciences from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC-MG) with a sandwich internship at the University of Toronto. He is a member of the DigiLabour research lab. 

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Published

2025-08-29

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Work, culture and temporality in the digital games industry. (2025). Ciências Sociais Em Revista, 61(2). https://doi.org/10.34024/csr.2025.61.2.17396