XPloitation

Gerlind Werner

found-footage-film + machinima-elementen, HD-Video

In a world where digital spaces become workplaces, the film shows two sides of gaming: one as
fun and relaxation, the other as a way to survive. With constant work demands, pressure from
algorithms, and global inequality, hidden problems appear. Behind the fun, real exploitation
happens. What looks like progress is often just a shift in power and work — from West to East,
from players to clickworkers, from play to survival.

The making of XPloitation

In my artistic video project, I explore a largely invisible form of digital labor: Goldfarming and powerleveling in online games. The starting point was an investigation into the concept of post-digital work and the question of how digital technologies create new global labor realities, often hidden and operating outside of regulated markets.

I was particularly drawn to the notion of digital colonialism, which describes how economic power structures from the analog world are transferred into digital systems. Goldfarming: The repetitive, hour-long collection of virtual goods by workers in countries such as China, Vietnam, or Venezuela, is a striking example of this. At the same time, this field opens up ethically charged questions about the relationship between humans and machines: especially when real people are replaced by bots or become “human bots” themselves.

A key focus lies in the contrast between how video games are perceived in the Global North as leisure, luxury, or a hobby and their function as a means of survival in the Global South. While gaming in the West is often associated with relaxation, innovation, or cultural capital, for many workers in the South it represents harsh, monotonous labor under precarious conditions.

This inequality is also reflected in symbolic figures such as Elon Musk, a multi-billionaire who was suspected of having his Diablo IV character powerleveled by others: a digital luxury that stands in stark contrast to those who must perform this exact work to survive.

The project ultimately raises the question: Who owns the game? Who gets to play—and who is forced to play in order to live?