Call of Duty: Warzone studio Raven Software unionizes

digitaltrends.com:

Weeks into a walkout, workers at Activision’s Raven Software are reportedly forming the first-ever AAA North American game workers union.

BREAKING: Testers at Raven Software, a division of Activision, say they've formed a union and are asking for voluntary recognition. The 34-person unit is the first-ever union in the big-budget video game industry. Filed to Bloomberg Terminal, story coming shortly.

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 21, 2022

Raven Software workers, mostly QA testers, walked off of the job in early December following a mass layoff of other QA testers at the studio. While it has carried on since, the walkout has had no effect, with none of the previously fired QA testers, who had been contractors, being rehired.

Seemingly in response, a 34-person group of workers, also QA Testers, at Raven Software is forming a union. Called the Game Workers Alliance, the group has already taken to Twitter to explain its principles. Through the union, workers at Raven Software, the primary developer behind the massively popular battle royale title Call of Duty: Warzone, are seeking to reduce crunch, create transparency between leadership and workers, and ensure that Quality Assurance testers receive “respect, appropriate compensation, and career development opportunities.”

Before the newly formed union can accomplish any of its goals, it has to be recognized by Activision. In the same thread on Twitter, the union asks that “Raven Software and Activision leadership voluntarily recognize our union and respect our right to organize without retaliation or interference.”

Coming on the heels of Activision Blizzard’s acquisition by Microsoft, it’s not clear what the response to the Game Worker’s Alliance will