In June 2019, Double Fine CEO Tim Schafer said that if employees proposed unionizing, it would “be the start of a conversation.” He was open to discussing a union, but said he did not know whether it would address problems such as abuse, crunch or pay differences. Those remarks followed a union-themed joke at the 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards.
What Schafer said about a possible union at Double Fine
In a June 21, 2019 Q&A with Game Developer, Schafer was asked how he would respond if Double Fine employees wanted to unionize. He answered, “It would be the start of a conversation.” He also said, “I’m not opposed to talking about it, I just don’t know what the answers are.”
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His answer expressed openness to hearing employees out, not a commitment to support a union or a claim that one was unnecessary. Schafer questioned whether unionization would solve workplace problems he identified, including employee abuse, crunch and differences in pay. The interview records his view at that time; it does not establish what he thinks today.
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At the 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards, Schafer performed a staged bit about unionization that involved the stage lights and teleprompter. The Springfield & Central Illinois Trades & Labor Council reported that he said, “I’m not anti-union, but I don’t really think we need them, right?” The lights then went out as part of the gag. Afterward, he said, “This is a union show. We’re better for it.” The council’s account of the awards bit identified the lighting crew as members of IATSE.
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The joke played with the idea that the show depended on union labor. It was a performance at an awards ceremony, not a formal statement of Double Fine policy. Schafer’s later interview provides a more direct account of how he said he would respond to an employee proposal: with a conversation, while remaining uncertain about whether unionization was the answer to the problems he named.
What the coverage does—and does not—establish
A March 2019 Kotaku feature discussed the awards joke among other Double Fine topics, including the studio’s games and subscription ideas. The June Q&A is the clearer source for Schafer’s hypothetical response to employees seeking a union.
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A May 9, 2026 report from XP Gained says Double Fine employees filed a union petition. That is a secondary report, and the available information here does not confirm the filing or its disposition through an official labor or union source. It therefore does not establish Double Fine’s current union status. The 2019 comments should not be used to settle that separate, present-day question.
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