More than 200 Activision-Blizzard developers have formed a union called the Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA (OWGG-CWA). Yesterday, the Communications Workers of America announced the formation of the new union, and said that Microsoft has already recognized and acknowledged it.
The union’s founding members cited the multiple waves of layoffs that have hit the industry, crunch working conditions, and the success of other recently-formed unions as the motivating factors behind the OWGG-CWA. According to Frank Le Cocq, a VFX artist in the industry, “The massive layoffs in the video game industry, and at my own studio, became one of the first reasons I started to learn about how to organize to create a healthier workplace for everyone.” Le Cocq said that knowing the World of Warcraft team had successful navigated the process was encouraging for his team.
More than 2,600 workers at Microsoft studios are part of unions with the CWA. Many of those workers have been directly impacted by the upheaval within different companies, such as the closure of three different EA-owned studios. Microsoft’s acknowledgement of the union is a good sign, but it doesn’t mean the group is in the clear. The union will need to decide what it wants to push for, and charting a course can be more difficult when the union consists of workers across a variety of disciplines.
The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild includes developers from design, production, engineering, art, sound, and quality assurance. The Zenimax union that Le Cocq mentioned consists solely of QA staff.
Jess Castillo, another union member, had this to say: “I’m organizing because I believe in this company, our teams, and the work we do together. Unionizing is about having a seat at the table so that we can work with leadership to build better, more sustainable working conditions. Ultimately, when we’re supported and thriving, we can deliver the best possible experiences to our players, which is what brought all of us here in the first place.”