More than 450 developers working on the Diablo franchise at Blizzard Entertainment have voted to unionize with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). This decision marks a significant development within the gaming industry, following a series of unionization efforts at Activision Blizzard and other Microsoft-owned studios.
The newly formed union encompasses a wide range of roles within the Diablo development team, including game developers, artists, designers, engineers, and support staff. Microsoft, the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment, has formally recognized the union. This recognition comes amid a broader trend of unionization within the company’s gaming divisions.
Kelly Yeo, a game producer and member of the organizing committee, articulated the motivation behind the unionization effort. According to Yeo, repeated mass layoffs have instilled fear among coworkers, creating a sense that hard work alone cannot guarantee job security. “With every subsequent round of mass layoffs, I’ve witnessed the dread in my coworkers grow stronger because it feels like no amount of hard work is enough to protect us,” Yeo stated. “I am overjoyed that we have formed a union—this is just the first step for us joining a movement spreading across an industry that is tired of living in fear. We are ready to begin fighting for real change alongside our Diablo colleagues.” In January, Microsoft executed layoffs impacting approximately 9,100 employees across the company, including numerous individuals within Activision Blizzard’s gaming division.
The Diablo team’s decision to unionize aligns with a broader wave of unionization efforts within Activision Blizzard and the larger Xbox ecosystem. These efforts have been facilitated, in part, by Microsoft’s labor neutrality agreement. The World of Warcraft team unionized last year, and the Overwatch developers followed suit in May of this year. Other Xbox unions include Raven Software workers, who ratified their first contract earlier this month; Zenimax QA workers, who secured a contract in May; the Bethesda union; and the story and franchise development team. To date, over 3,500 Microsoft employees have organized with the CWA.
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