Another massive union has formed at Blizzard Entertainment, this time consisting of over 450 developers from Team 3, the group responsible for the Diablo franchise. Formed under the Communication Workers of America, this Diablo union is one of the largest wall-to-wall organizations that has formed at Blizzard over the last several years.
In 2022, the quality assurance team from Raven Software formed the Game Workers Alliance, the very first union in all of Activision Blizzard. Over the next several years, thousands of other employees have banded together to form similar unions across its Warcraft and Overwatch teams.
Now, Diablo has finally joined the list of Blizzard IPs that have begun to form unions. According to the CWA, as of August 28, over 450 developers from Diablo’s Team 3 have formed a union, with an overwhelming majority in favor of the motion. Consisting of the entire Diablo development team, this wall-to-wall union will offer greater protections to these employees in light of recent layoffs at Microsoft, and should hopefully provide them further options to fight for better wages, rights, and benefits.
The newest union at Blizzard is one of the largest wall-to-wall unions in all of Microsoft, only surpassed by groups like the 500-strong World of Warcraft developer’s union, which formed the first of its kind in July 2024. As of this latest organization, over 3,500 workers at Microsoft have unionized under the CWA, many of whom are a part of the various teams at Blizzard.
This push towards unionization is especially important due to the rampant layoffs that have plagued Microsoft this year. Cuts of varying sizes have taken place in January, May, June, and July, with a total of approximately 15,000 employees from across the company let go this year alone. Additionally, the global pressure towards utilizing generative AI has led to greater tensions in all corners of game development. While unionization cannot completely prevent these developers from being affected by layoffs or policy changes, it can give them a stronger collective voice, and can provide protections and safety nets in the event that further cuts take place.
August has been a big month for unionization at Blizzard Entertainment. On August 13, Blizzard’s story and franchise development team unionized as well, bringing animators, cinematic specialists, and narrative writers under the CWA umbrella. This union was the first of its kind in all of North America, marking yet another historical precedent for unionization by the company.
9/10
June 6, 2023
M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
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