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Article Summary
- Employees at UK-based tabletop RPG publisher Rowan, Rook and Decard have successfully unionized under the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) Games Worker Union.
- Management at the publisher voluntarily recognized the union in a first-of-its-kind agreement for the UK tabletop industry.
- The union covers all seven full-time staff members, while also establishing protections for freelance artists, writers and editors.
- Rowan, Rook and Decard joins several other recently formed tabletop unions, including at Paizo and Wizards of the Coast.
Employees at UK-based tabletop RPG studio Rowan, Rook and Decard (RRD) – publisher of games like Heart, Spire and Eat the Reich – have successfully unionized their workplace under the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) Games Worker Union.
Perhaps most surprisingly, RRD management voluntarily recognized and even welcomed the union, making it the first TTRPG studio in the UK to take such a step. RRD employees also join a small but growing number of international tabletop workers who have unionized in recent years, including the United Paizo Workers who formed in October 2021, and United Wizards of the Coast, who formed in April 2026 to represent the digital workers for the Magic: The Gathering Arena team.
Below, we break down how the agreement came together and what is means for the TTRPG industry as a whole.
What is Rowan, Rook and Decard?
Rowan, Rook and Decard is a UK-based TTRPG publisher founded in 2017 by indie game designers Grant Howitt, Chris Taylor and Maz Hamilton. The company is best known for games including Eat The Reich, Heart: The City Beneath, Spire: The City Must Fall and the DIE RPG (the latter of which is based on the popular Image comic book series). More recently, they also launched a successful Kickstarter for the Children of Time RPG, based on the award-winning sci-fi novels by British author Adrian Tchaikovsky.
As an independent publisher, RRD currently employs around a dozen full- or part-time employees, making the new union relatively small compared to publishers like Wizards of the Coast and Paizo, but still noteworthy within the TTRPG space.
What is the IWGB Games Worker Union?
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) Games Worker Union is a specialized trade union branch dedicated to organizing and protecting rights for workers throughout the video game and tabletop industry. Operating much like labor organizations in the US, the IWGB provides members with ways to directly negotiate with management over issues like pay, job security and workplace protections.
Founded in 2012, the union has grown rapidly over the past few years, currently representing over 2,000 workers across approximately 80 different studios. High-profile organizing efforts under its banner include staff at Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM and an ongoing unionization bid by workers at Grand Theft Auto creator Rockstar. More recently, the IWGB has expanded to tabletop game publishers, providing new frameworks geared specifically to TTRPG workers. Rowan, Rook and Decard represents the first tabletop game publisher in the UK to join with the IWGB.
How did Rowan, Rook and Decard join the IWGB union?
In many cases, game studios aggressively push back against any form of unionization. Wizards of the Coast, for example, encouraged employees not to unionize when they first began to organize in 2026.
In the case of RRD, however, joining the union was enthusiastically supported by leadership. As a result, both sides were able to come to an agreement relatively quickly and hammer out a formal agreement without the significant financial and legal resources that often are required when management is opposed.
The new agreement covers all seven full-time members of RRD’s team (represented by producer Elaine Lithgow and Alex Levene) while the three co-founders maintain separate membership with the UK’s Federation of Small Businesses.
When did the Rowan, Rook and Decard unionization happen?
The path to unionization was incredibly fast by game industry standards. Informal conversations between RRD staff and IWGB representatives began back in May 2024, shortly after the union expanded its purview to officially encompass tabletop workers.
After two years of internal organizing, staff formally requested voluntary recognition on July 7th, 2026, with the IWGB contacting management on July 22nd. A fully signed agreement was successfully negotiated by August 10th, 2026.
Final thoughts
The successful unionization of Rowan, Rook and Decard proves that worker solidarity and indie game publishing can go hand in hand without friction. And while only a small handful of TTRPG publishers have embraced unions, chances are we’ll see more taking similar steps in the near future.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story as it develops, and will update this page with new information as its made available. In the meantime, you can learn more on the official IWGB website.