Over a hundred and sixty Blizzard staff members band together, marking a significant step towards enhancing workplace conditions in a historic action.
Microsoft-Owned Game Studios Form Unions for Better Work Conditions
In a significant move for the video game industry, teams at studios like Blizzard Entertainment and Bethesda Game Studios, now under Microsoft, are forming unions to secure job stability, better pay, and protections against mandatory overtime, among other benefits.
The Story and Franchise Development (SFD) team at Blizzard Entertainment, responsible for the stories, trailers, and cinematics of games like Diablo 4, has become the first in-house cinematic, animation, and narrative studio in the United States to do so. Quality assurance testers at ZeniMax Media, another Microsoft-owned studio, were the first to organize under the tech giant in 2023, with over 160 workers voting in favour of the union.
The union aims to preserve what makes Blizzard special, secure transparency, and ensure fair policies, according to Bucky Fisk, a principal editor and member of the organizing committee. John Giarratana, a cinematic producer and member of the same committee, expressed excitement about the union, stating it protects colleagues from misguided policies and instability due to layoffs.
Key reasons for unionization include securing wage increases and promotion opportunities, eliminating or limiting "crunch" (excessive mandatory overtime), gaining clear job descriptions, career protections, and layoff safeguards, having a voice in company decisions, and addressing precarious contract/temporary work situations.
This union momentum developed after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax in 2023. Microsoft’s relative openness to unionization within its studios contrasts with many tech firms, though challenges remain during layoffs and restructuring.
Outside of Blizzard, wall-to-wall unions have organized at Bethesda Game Studios and ZeniMax Online Studios. The Overwatch 2 development team and the World of Warcraft team are among the other video game development teams that have unionized under Microsoft.
As a result, almost 3,000 workers are now unionized across Microsoft's gaming division as a whole. The Raven Software quality assurance testers have recently agreed to a contract with Microsoft, but the specific policies or issues they are addressing with their union contract remain undisclosed.
The news article also mentions layoffs across different teams, including King and ZeniMax Media. Many Microsoft employees are emphasizing the continued need for unionization, particularly in the wake of these layoffs.
The formation of these unions offers hope for the future of the game development industry, with workers striving to improve wages, work-life balance, job security, and workplace influence in a difficult, rapidly changing industry.
[1] The Verge [2] Polygon [3] GamesIndustry.biz [4] Kotaku [5] Ars Technica
- Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax in 2023 has sparked unionization efforts among teams at Blizzard Entertainment, Bethesda Game Studios, and ZeniMax Online Studios.
- Bucky Fisk, a principal editor at Blizzard Entertainment, reveals that the union aims to preserve what makes the studio special, secure transparency, and ensure fair policies.
- John Giarratana, a cinematic producer at Blizzard Entertainment, expresses excitement about the union, stating it protects colleagues from misguided policies and instability due to layoffs.
- Key reasons for unionization include securing wage increases, eliminating or limiting excessive mandatory overtime, gaining clear job descriptions and layoff safeguards, having a voice in company decisions, and addressing precarious contract/temporary work situations.
- Microsoft’s relative openness to unionization within its studios contrasts with many tech firms, but challenges remain during layoffs and restructuring.
