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Blizzard Entertainment Workers Ratify Historic Video Game Contracts with CWA
New union contracts represent nearly 1,900 workers across Blizzard; include guardrails around AI usage, layoff protections, and remote and hybrid work benefits
NATIONWIDE — Blizzard Entertainment workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) voted to ratify historic union contracts with the Microsoft-owned company, securing an unprecedented victory for the video game industry following the Labor Day holiday and just days ahead of BlizzCon, Blizzard Entertainment’s flagship gaming convention in Anaheim, Calif.
After two years of bargaining, nearly 1900 video game workers have won a breakthrough first contract, whose terms will now extend to all units across Blizzard’s game teams and shared services, including union-represented workers at World of Warcraft, Quality Assurance, Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble, Overwatch, Diablo, and Blizzard’s Platform & Technology and Story and Franchise Development units.
“I’ve been at Blizzard for 20 years because I love this company and the amazing people I work with. This contract secures a lot of what people already love about working here while adding strong protections around layoffs, job security, and remote work,” said Platform & Technology bargaining committee member and Principal Software Engineer Daniel Weltz. “Blizzard helped shape the gaming industry, and I’m proud that this contract allows us to continue setting new standards for this work.”
Blizzard Entertainment workers outside the Irvine, Calif., office after World of Warcraft workers became the first wall-to-wall union at Activision Blizzard in July 2024 with the formation of WoWGG-CWA.
The union contracts reinforce several workplace benefits that set industry-wide standards for video game workers in the United States. Alongside wage increases, grievance procedures, a three-day in-office hybrid workweek, “just cause” protections, remote work and disability accommodations, the contracts now require Blizzard to discuss, evaluate, and bargain over the usage of artificial intelligence in the workplace. In an industry first, the new union contracts give workers the right to be “recalled” into open positions across any Blizzard bargaining unit for 14 months from the date of their layoff announcement. Workers have also secured an extra 4 weeks of severance for union workers regardless of their tenure.
“This contract marks the beginning of a new era at Blizzard Entertainment, but it doesn’t stop with us. I look forward to the day that everyone in the industry can enjoy the protections that this contract affords us, like increased severance and recall rights in the event of a layoff and the ability to grieve injustices in the workplace,” said Overwatch bargaining committee member and Quality Analyst Simon Hedrick. “I believe that the positive change we have won will ripple out and help make the games industry as a whole a better place for workers and players alike. This contract is the start of something greater, and I urge everyone to remember: when we fight together, we win together.”
A prominent issue for members of the bargaining committee during contract negotiations was industry layoffs. In July, Microsoft’s gaming division — now rebranded as XBOX — announced 3,200 planned job reductions across XBOX, impacting hundreds of union members. Hundreds of CWA members and allies coordinated rallies across the United States and Canada in protest of these layoffs, demanding dignity and respect for those laid-off.
Video game workers and allies rallying against layoffs outside the Austin Activision building in August. Courtesy of CWA Local 2108 Member Emilio González.
“CWA members at Blizzard are leading the way for all XBOX studios, showing what can be achieved when video game workers have a strong voice in shaping their studios for the better. It’s a new day at Blizzard, where greater power for workers is translating into more innovative games for players,” said Claude Cummings, Jr., President of CWA. “I am so proud of CWA bargaining teams, taking on tough fights and winning strong contracts that set new standards for working people across our industries.”
The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a union movement of thousands of workers fighting every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, games, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.
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