Many video game companies are unionizing after years of groundwork. Here is every game studio that’s unionized, including Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.
The past few years appeared to be pretty dang good for the video game industry, if you’re only looking at profits. There’s an abundance of incredible, highly rated games to play — The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, among so many more — as the industry returns to growth, expected to swell to a valuation of $185 billion this year. Following all that success, it’s likely surprising to hear that 2024 has been a devastating year for the people who make video games: More than 20,000 game industry workers have been laid off since the start of the 2023.
During what’s been one of the most volatile periods in the video game industry, there is an upside: An increased interest in union organizing means workers are edging toward workplace protections. After years of groundwork laid over social media and in the halls of gatherings like the Game Developers Conference over the past decade, workers are organizing into unions in their fight against an infamous culture of overwork, low pay, and harassment. Unions are on the rise in the game industry, as workers seek to make meaningful, sustainable change.
Several of the industry’s biggest companies now have union representation for employees. ZeniMax QA workers under Microsoft officially unionized to start the year — and the company’s neutrality agreement will soon apply to Activision Blizzard employees now under Microsoft. Unions there have continued to pop up, with wall-to-wall unions at both Bethesda Game Studios and with the World of Warcraft team. Alongside them, workers at CD Projekt Red and Avalanche Studios organized for a seat at the table, too. Behind the scenes, workers across the industry are meeting with their co-workers to eventually do the same.
We’ve been following these stories for the past several years, and have created a running list of gaming companies — video games, tabletop, and hardware — where workers are organizing. We’ll update this list as more unions pop up across the global industry.Microsoft and Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard made headlines in 2021 after California’s Civil Rights Department (formerly called the Department of Fair Employment and Housing) sued the World of Warcraft and Call of Duty publisher over alleged widespread sexism and harassment. (Activision Blizzard itself sued the CRD over the lawsuit in 2022.) This kicked off a flurry of accusations and lawsuits, including a settled $18 million suit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Workers, too, took action: More than 1,000 workers walked out in July 2021, and since then, organizing efforts have continued. Its three unions — two officially recognized through National Labor Relations Board elections — are entirely made up of quality assurance workers. QA workers often feel they are overlooked, subjected to low pay, unstable contracts, and brutal overwork.
Activision Blizzard has repeatedly moved to stall union efforts, maintaining the opinion that all workers at the respective studios should vote in the union elections, not just QA workers. Multiple unfair labor complaints have been filed against the company, alleging anti-union sentiment and union-busting.
As union efforts were underway at the company, Activision Blizzard converted all its contract workers to full-time employees — a win workers attribute to organizing efforts.
Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard as part of a $68.7 billion deal that was completed in 2023. The United States Federal Trade Commission sued Microsoft in an effort to challenge the deal, but a judge ultimately ruled in Microsoft’s favor. During the process, Microsoft signed a neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America, promising not to interfere with union efforts at the company, in an attempt to sway the FTC.
We saw it in practice firsthand when QA workers at several ZeniMax studios announced their desire to unionize. That expanded into Activision Blizzard unions when Microsoft acquired the company in 2023; now, there are several major unions under the company — and more than 1,750 unionized workers.Activision Central QA
QA workers at Activision’s central QA department have unionized with CWA, the group announced in March. Roughly 600 QA workers across several offices are part of the union. These workers were the first from Activision to unionize after the Microsoft acquisition, meaning they had the benefit of the neutrality agreement. Microsoft recognized the union after an internal, private vote.Bethesda Game Studios
Bethesda Game Studios workers have unionized under the Communications Workers of America. The union includes 241 people across three offices: the main office in Rockville, Maryland, and its satellites in Dallas and Austin, Texas. CWA called it the first “wall-to-wall” union under Microsoft, meaning it includes people across job titles, including “artists, engineers, programmers and designers.” Microsoft recognized the union.
Workers at Bethesda’s Montreal office filed to unionize with CWA in Canada in June, including 117 people — again, across job titles. Bethesda’s QA workers are already unionized under the ZeniMax Workers United union.Blizzard Albany
Blizzard Albany, formerly known as Vicarious Visions, is working on Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo franchise, including the upcoming Diablo 4. It was the second studio within Activision Blizzard to successfully unionize; QA workers there won their vote 14-0 in December 2022, following a number of alleged union-busting efforts, according to the CWA.Raven Software
Raven Software is the first studio within Activision Blizzard to unionize, an effort kicked off in December 2021 as Call of Duty: Warzone QA workers walked out of work to protest what they considered unfair layoffs of contract workers. QA workers announced their union push in January 2022 and were met with resistance from Activision Blizzard: Management attempted to restructure the company and rule the QA bargaining unit ineligible to vote. A judge ruled in favor of the QA union after hearings, and Raven Software workers, called Game Workers Alliance, won their union vote in May 2022 and are represented by the CWA.Proletariat
Boston-based studio Proletariat announced the filing of its union petition in late December 2022. The Spellbreak developer was acquired by Activision Blizzard in June 2022; Spellbreak was shut down, and team is now working on World of Warcraft. Proletariat intended to be represented by the CWA. Proletariat’s proposed unit included all positions outside of management — around 60 workers currently.
However, on Jan. 24, CWA announced that it was withdrawing its petition request. Workers there will not vote on a union.ZeniMax
Roughly 300 QA workers at ZeniMax Media have unionized under the CWA. The group, called ZeniMax Workers United, sidestepped an NLRB election due to Microsoft’s neutrality deal. Instead, workers voted through union authorization cards or an online portal to prove interest to the company. A supermajority of those 300 workers voted “yes,” and Microsoft recognized the union.
It was a much speedier process than the traditional pathway, as evidenced by efforts at Activision Blizzard. ZeniMax Workers United includes workers at Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, and ZeniMax Online in Maryland and Texas offices.World of Warcraft
More than 500 people who work on Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft announced the formation of The World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild on July 24, 2024.
