By Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 squad has unionized. The all-encompassing union–known as the Overwatch Gamemakers Guild–comprises nearly 200 creators, including artists, quality assurance testers, writers, and engineers. It is the second union established at the company since last July, following the successful formation of a union among the team behind Blizzard’s renowned MMO World of Warcraft. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) revealed the union in a statement shared with Kotaku earlier today, declaring that “an overwhelming majority of employees” supported the movement.
“The developers behind Activision Blizzard’s popular franchise Overwatch have joined forces with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), becoming the newest cohort of video game workers at Microsoft-owned studios to establish a comprehensive union,” the CWA announced. “A neutral arbitrator confirmed today that a significant majority of employees have either signed a union authorization card or expressed interest in union representation through an online portal.”
With the unionization of the Overwatch 2 team, the total number of unionized game developers at Microsoft has surpassed 2,000 workers. However, the Overwatch Gamemakers Guild must now negotiate its initial contract—a process that Microsoft has been accused of prolonging.
Simon Hedrick, a testing analyst at Blizzard, indicated that the layoffs at the start of 2024 were a key factor in the team’s decision to unionize. He told Kotaku that “Up until that point, I had been quite pleased with my work.” Hedrick was referring to the massive layoffs by Microsoft last January, which saw over 1,900 employees, including Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, let go.
“Individuals disappeared unexpectedly, and there was nothing we could do about it,” Hedrick shared with Kotaku.
Besides the looming threat of layoffs, the Overwatch 2 team also highlighted issues like salary inequalities, remote work limitations, and the desire for certain protections—such as relief from intense work periods and guaranteed severance packages—as reasons for their unionization. According to Kotaku, Blizzard staff have repeatedly emphasized that “enhancing their working conditions can lead to improved games,” asserting that layoffs and uncompetitive salaries worsen the situation.
Blizzard UI Artist Sadie Boyd echoed the sentiment regarding unionization, telling Kotaku, “We’re not merely a statistic on a spreadsheet. We want to create games, but we cannot do so without job security.”
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