The video game industry is a mess — a massive, lucrative mess. Two years ago, a PwC report projected that video games would be worth $321 billion by 2026, up from $214 billion in 2021. This year, the market is set to hit $282 billion, so it’s more or less on pace, with an average revenue per user of over $200 accounting for console, computer, and mobile gaming.

 To get a sense of the scale here, video games are worth more than the film industry. And the music industry. In fact, the video game industry is bigger than both of those industries combined. That’s staggeringly big. The immense size and economic power of the industry, which is largely nonunionized, creates regulatory gaps, leading to inevitable dysfunction and exploitation. This makes life miserable for employees and consumers alike, both in the workplace and beyond.

In a single sentence, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier summed up the problems plaguing the video game industry and its attendant culture. Writing on Twitter, Schreier gave his readers the benefit of the doubt and ironically posted: