The gaming giant has been in tricky waters since its toxic culture allegations a few years ago, though Activision’s list of controversies doesn’t seem to have slowed down over time. Efforts of unionization at Activision came to the fold back in 2021 when Vodeo Games first formed a union at the company. This was followed by Raven Software organizing a union in January this year with the QA team at Blizzard Albany voting for a union earlier this month. As such, the latest announcement of a union will be the third effort in 2022 alone and the fourth at Activision Blizzard overall.
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A group of employees representing Proletariat, a Blizzard-owned developer, have announced that they are organizing a union with the Communications Workers of America. As per the filing, the group includes a 57-person unit of designers, animators, engineers, and producers, along with quality assurance staff. Should the union effort win, it will mark the first time an Activision Blizzard union comprises non-quality assurance workers. In a statement, the Proletariat Workers Alliance hopes that the company would voluntarily recognize the union and “bargain in good faith.” The statement further read that the leadership “should follow in the steps of Microsoft and commit to a Labor Neutrality Agreement.”
Activision Blizzard acquired Proletariat back in June with the aim of expanding its World of Warcraft IP. According to John Hight, General Manager at Warcraft, acquisition efforts were underway since May before the team was integrated into the popular MMO. Proletariat has been part of the gaming industry for a decade with Spellbreak as its most notable project. As of now, there’s a lot yet to be said about the studio’s future around its contribution to World of Warcraft. Regardless, its unionization effort is bound to pose an interesting journey ahead for Proletariat.
The union announcement comes amid the Federal Trade Commission’s attempts at blocking Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, along with vocal opposition from the likes of Sony. Of course, Microsoft itself has stated that it will remain neutral on game studios and unionization matters. In fact, Microsoft President Brad Smith even clarified that Microsoft will work with unions should it come to that. At the moment, it’s unclear how Activision Blizzard will look to handle the situation under the present circumstances. Although, its own history around unionization has been mixed, to say the least.
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