Psychonauts developer Double Fine Productions has filed to unionise with support from the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
As reported by Aftermath, the petition was filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 7 and requests voluntary recognition from Microsoft. The proposed union covers 42 part-time and full-time employees.
In a statement to Aftermath, the CWA said Double Fine decided to unionise “to preserve and extend the studio’s commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life.”
“We appreciate that Microsoft has taken a neutral approach and agreed not to interfere in any way with workers’ right to organise unions.”
In 2022, Microsoft and the CWA entered a labour neutrality agreement following the pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This allowed developers planning to unionise to do so without going through the NLRB’s process.
The agreement expired in October 2025. Juniper Dowell, senior QA tester and union steward at ZeniMax Bethesda, told Aftermath they hope to negotiate a new neutrality agreement to keep the unionisation process streamlined.
Several Microsoft subsidiaries have unionised since 2022. Raven Software became the first major video game union in the United States.
Other unionised studios include Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA, OneBGS (Bethesda Game Studios), World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild, QA teams at Blizzard in Albany and Austin, Activision User Research Union-CWA, Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA, and Diablo developers.
Last April, the CWA said union negotiations had stalled at Microsoft.
“It’s become increasingly clear that although Microsoft tries to position itself as a good-faith employer, there’s another story being told behind the scenes at the bargaining table,” said ZeniMax Workers United member and senior QA tester Autumn Mitchell.
“We are frustrated. Our union will continue fighting until we secure a first contract, and we’re prepared to do whatever it takes – even if that means withholding our labour.”
Double Fine was acquired by Microsoft in 2019 for $13.2 million.
The studio was founded in 2000 by industry veteran Tim Schafer after his departure from LucasArts.
