Employees at Raven Software – the studio behind Call Of Duty: Warzone – have voted to form a union.
Yesterday (May 23), quality assurance workers at Raven Software won their bid to unionise as the Game Workers Alliance.
As counted by the National Labour Relations Board, 19 employees voted in favour of unionising, while three voted against. The ballot’s results will become official on May 31, unless Activision Blizzard or workers at Raven Software file an objection.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Becka Aigner – a Raven Software employee who voted – said “The outcome of this election, the voice of the people coming together to vote yes for this union, is further validation that even a small group of folks in Madison Wisconsin standing together in solidarity can face up against a AAA studio giant like Activision, and come out the other side victorious.”
Looking ahead, Aigner shared that “now that the fight for recognition is through, we can focus our efforts on negotiations. We’ll fight for respect, fight for better wages, better benefits, better work-life balance, fight for sustainability and job security, and continue to fight for our fellow workers in solidarity.”
Jessica Taylor, a spokesperson for Activision Blizzard, shared that while the company “respect and believe in the right of all employees to decide whether or not to support or vote for a union,” it feels “an important decision that will impact the entire Raven Software studio of roughly 350 people should not be made by 19 of [Raven’s] employees.”
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“We’re committed to doing what’s best for the studio and our employees,” added Taylor, though did not say whether Activision Blizzard plans to file an objection to the results.
In other gaming news, a former Xbox executive has shared that he is “nervous” about the potential impact that Xbox Game Pass could have on the games industry.