“Crunch” can be defined as the either mandatory or self inflected period of time when employees, typically within technological fields, are forced to work overtime. Within the gaming industry crunch is treated as a normal part work culture, as teams for huge development projects are typically comprised of groups of 20 to 100 members, despite high consumer demand. (Plant, 2023) Crunch working conditions are built upon manipulative management strategies that loop employees into vicious cycles of increased overtime hours, motivated by the fear of potential layoffs. By influencing a cultural norm of job insecurity, management teams are easily able to double or sometimes triple employee performance rates with weekly hours of 65-90. Such is done at little to no cost, as employees are rarely compensated for crunch time. (Dyer-Witheford & Peuter , 2006) Very few federal and state laws exist that protect computer professionals. Currently, the gaming industry is undergo unionization by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the same organization that help Marvel visual effect workers during the 2023 Writers & Actors strike. (Plant, 2023) This paper will analyze the twenty year history of crunch in the gaming industry and delve into future law and unionization proposals.