More workers under Microsoft’s gaming division are unionizing, with the Diablo team at Blizzard Entertainment being the latest to join the growing effort.
Over 450 developers at Blizzard who work on games like Diablo 4 are unionizing with the Communication Workers of America (CWA), the organization shared on Thursday.
“With every subsequent round of mass layoffs, I’ve witnessed the dread in my coworkers grow stronger because it feels like no amount of hard work is enough to protect us,” said Kelly Yeo, Team 3 game producer on Diablo and organizing committee member.
“I am overjoyed that we have formed a union—this is just the first step for us joining a movement spreading across an industry that is tired of living in fear. We are ready to begin fighting for real change alongside our Diablo colleagues.”
This news comes a few weeks after Microsoft held another round of layoffs, cutting workers at Xbox teams like ZeniMax, King, and many others, which also resulted in multiple games being canceled.
Other members of the unionizing Diablo team make it abundantly clear that the numerous cuts at Microsoft are a driving force behind the push for organizing.
Our union allows us to focus on making magical experiences for our players instead of worrying about the unstable job industry
senior software engineer Skye Hoefling
“I grew up playing Diablo, and I feel lucky that I get to work at Blizzard on a game that’s very special to me and the gaming community,” says Skye Hoefling, Team 3 senior software engineer II on Diablo and organizing committee member.
“But passion can’t protect us from job instability. Our union allows us to focus on making magical experiences for our players instead of worrying about the unstable job industry.”
Layoffs have a chilling effect, making it harder and harder for the remaining team members to focus as they worry if they’ll be next to be cut.
“The day after the third round of mass layoffs, I walked into the office, and when I tried to open the door to the cafeteria, my badge was denied. For a moment, I wondered if getting breakfast was how I’d find out I was part of that round,” says Ryan Littleton, Team 3 game designer on Diablo and organizing committee member.
“While luckily it was just a technical issue, none of us should have to live with that constant worry that we might be let go at the drop of a hat. A union allows us to organize across the industry to make great games and protect the developers who create them from the constant pressures of layoffs, passion tax, and crunch.”
Unions at Microsoft gaming subsidiaries continue to grow
Microsoft first implemented a neutrality policy towards unions in 2022, when the company was courting regulators in its bid to acquire Activision Blizzard King, which it finalized in October 2023.
Since then, the agreement has been put to the test, with numerous teams and studios underneath the broader Microsoft Gaming umbrella organizing and forming unions with the CWA.
This list includes but is not limited to Activision QA, ZeniMax Media QA workers, Bethesda Game Studios, ZeniMax Online Studios, Raven Software QA, and various teams at Blizzard Entertainment.
Blizzard, in particular, has seen a massive amount of worker movement over the last year, with the World of Warcraft team, the Overwatch 2 team, and the Story and Franchise Development team all unionizing before now.
The next step for many of these teams is to ratify a contract. So far, the ZeniMax QA workers and the Raven Software QA team have ratified contracts with Microsoft.
Personally, I’m pretty happy to continue to see this worker-led effort under Microsoft. Banding together is the best chance employees have for helping to make the gaming industry a better place.
