Activision Blizzard is giving a thousand game testers full-time jobs and pay bumps

theverge.com:

Activision Blizzard has just announced that all temporary and contingent QA workers of its Activision Publishing and Blizzard divisions are being converted to full-time employees — meaning nearly 1,100 temp game testers are getting full-time jobs with benefits. They’ll be making higher wages, too, with a new minimum hourly rate of $20.

Here is a full statement from Jessica Taylor, Activision Blizzard’s vice president of corporate communications:

Across Activision Blizzard, we are bringing more content to players across our franchises than ever before. As a result, we are refining how our teams work together to develop our games and deliver the best possible experiences for our players. We have ambitious plans for the future and our Quality Assurance (QA) team members are a critical part of our development efforts.

Therefore, today we announced the conversion of all US-based temporary and contingent QA team members at Activision Publishing (AP) and Blizzard — nearly 1,100 people in total — to permanent full-time employees starting July 1. Additionally, we are increasing the minimum hourly rate for these team members to $20/hr or more effective April 17. These employees also will be eligible to participate in the company’s bonus plan and will have access to full company benefits.

This change follows a process that began last year across AP and Blizzard of converting temporary and contingent employees, including 500 at AP’s studios, to permanent full-time employees.

The change follows significant worker activism after Raven Software, an Activision studio known for its work on the Call of Duty series, announced in December that it was going to lay off QA contractors. Some workers went on strike in protest, and some have