Quality assurance workers at Blizzard in Albany, New York, and Austin, Texas, have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a union contract at parent company, Microsoft.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) said the contract ensures “lasting protections in the workplace” and marks the third contract at the company after ZeniMax employees ratified a contract last June, and Raven Software in August.
The contract – for which bargaining began in May 2023 – will cover over 60 workers in a range of quality assurance roles. The three-year contract includes guaranteed wage increases for the duration of the contract, enhanced regulations around the usage of AI and generative AI in the workplace, protections on fair crediting and name recognition on shipped games, reasonable disability accommodations, immigrant worker protections, and restrictions on mandatory crunch.
“At a time when layoffs are hitting our industry hard, today is another big step in building a better future for video game workers at every level,” said CWA Local 1118 member and Blizzard Albany quality analyst, Brock Davis. “For quality assurance testers, this contract provides us wages to live on, increased job security benefits, and guardrails around artificial intelligence in the workplace.”
“After nearly two decades in the video game industry, it feels great to work with my fellow union members in ratifying a fair contract that makes it easier to see a real, long-term career in this work,” added CWA Local 6215 member and Blizzard Austin senior quality analyst, Matt Gant.
“This agreement gives us a better working environment with increased pay, benefits, and layoff protections that include recall rights and ensures that quality assurance work remains a stable and respected role for the workers who will build games long after us.”
Last week, Ubisoft’s unions STJV, CFE-CGC, CGT, Printemps Ecologique, and Solidaries Infortmatique called for “a massive international strike” after the developer/publisher announced plans for a dramatic restructuring in which it confirmed the cancellation of six games, including the Prince of Persia remake, the delay of seven more, a return to full-time in-office work, and a “final” round of layoffs and studio closures designed to save €200 million.
According to the GDC Festival of Gaming’s new 2026 State Of The Game Industry survey, interest in joining a union has increased. 82% of US respondents supported unionization for game industry workers, with 5% opposed and 13% unsure. Support for unionisation was highest among workers earning under $200,000 a year (87%), those who’d been laid off during the past two years (88%), and people younger than 45 years old (86%). No 18 to 24-year-olds were opposed to unionization.
