Raven Software QA unionization (2022)
Quality assurance testers at Raven Software, a Call of Duty studio, formed Game Workers Alliance after the company laid off 12 contractors. They became the first major union at a U.S. game developer.
Activision Blizzard refused to voluntarily recognize the union, forcing an NLRB election the union won.
The win opened the door for organizing across Activision Blizzard and shaped CWA's neutrality deal with Microsoft during its 2023 acquisition.
Raven's fight established that game QA workers could organize in the face of layoffs and corporate resistance, setting the precedent Blizzard workers followed at much larger scale.
