Overwatch developers form nearly 200-person union at Blizzard Entertainment

Another group of developers has unionized at Blizzard Entertainment. On Friday May 9, 2025, the Communication Workers of America announced the formation of the Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA, a nearly 200-person “wall-to-wall” union representing developers working on Blizzard’s Overwatch series.

“Wall to wall” unions—like the kind formed by Blizzard’s World of Warcraft development team in 2024, are unions that encompass the entirety of a business bargaining group. These differ from the smaller discipline-based unions seen elsewhere at the company, like the Activision Blizzard-wide QA union formed in 2024 and the Raven Software QA union formed in 2022 (the latter group has accused Activision Blizzard parent company Microsoft of “bad faith bargaining” over a union contract).

Overwatch Gamemakers Guild organizers Frank Le Cocq, Foster Elmendorf, and Jess Castillo explained in the announcement that the decision to unionize was sparked in part by the thousands of layoffs across the video game industry, over 1,900 of which were executed by Xbox Game Studios after Microsoft finished acquiring Activision Blizzard.

“The massive layoffs in the video game industry—and at my own studio—became one of the first reasons I started to learn about how to organize to create a healthier workplace for everyone,” said Le Cocque, adding that the World of Warcraft union drive proved “empowering” to him and the organizing committee.

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Microsoft-owned developers still face an uphill battle in labor organizing

Organizing unions under Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios has been made more efficient by the global software company’s 2022 “labor neutrality” agreement with the CWA, a still-unique accord meant to allow employees to unionize without pushback from Microsoft.

But even with the successful formation of unions at Raven Software, ZeniMax, Bethesda Game Studios, and Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft hasn’t brought that same conciliatory tone to the contract bargaining table. In April 2025 ZeniMax quality assurance workers organized under the CWA voted to authorize a strike, saying the company has refused to make concessions on worker pay, outsourcing, and return-to-office requirements.

Meanwhile, the Raven Software QA workers union has accused Activision Blizzard parent company Microsoft of “bad faith bargaining” over a union contract. In both instances, Microsoft has publicly defended its position, saying it has made “fair” proposals during negotiations.

The battles may be ongoing, but organizers have made clear they’d rather be brawling with Microsoft lawyers than sitting on the sidelines. “Unionizing is about having a seat at the table so that we can work with leadership to build better, more sustainable working conditions,” said Castillo. “Ultimately, when we’re supported and thriving, we can deliver the best possible experiences to our players, which is what brought all of us here in the first place.”

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