The Activision Blizzard/Microsoft deal just got a whole lot more complicated as a 34-person Quality Assurance (QA) team under Call of Duty's Raven Software has opted to form a union. This would be among the first of its kind within the North American video game industry, showcasing the still-necessary strides of enhancing internal workplace conditions throughout gaming.
Titled the Game Workers Alliance Union, which will be set under Communications Workers of America, vies to reestablish how gaming workers can be represented and viewed. According to sources of Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Activision's leadership has yet to make any real statement, whether direct or indirect, on the Dec. 6 protest forwarded by Raven Software developers.
BREAKING: Testers at Raven Software, a division of Activision, say they've formed a union and are asking for voluntary recognition. The 34-person unit is the first-ever union in the big-budget video game industry. Filed to Bloomberg Terminal, story coming shortly.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 21, 2022
These QA testers utilized a staged walkout in opposition to Activision firing 12 other QA testers. The movement even took place virtually and featured a viral #WeAreRaven campaign, which saw an outpouring of support across social media.
Internally, however, while Activision may have at the time welcomed "their right to express their opinions in a safe and respectful manner," it as of yet has not made any major changes nor sought to find any formal closure in the matter.
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Brent Reel, lead QA tester under Raven, tells Schreier, "It's extremely important that workers have a real seat at the table to positively shape the company going forward."
Going forward, however, might mean contending with big daddy Microsoft. The tech giant secured a $70 billion potential investment into the ownership over Activision Blizzard Tuesday morning, yet several regulatory stopgaps still remain. While some see the deal as having potential for crossing antitrust regulation, others aren't as intoxicated.
One such individual, an unnamed hedge fund attorney speaking to the New York Post, claims Microsoft's deal to buy Activision Blizzard has a 75% chance to find clearance with the Justice Department, but is far less likely if the Federal Trade Commission gets involved - which, it just might.
How exactly Microsoft will handle this new revelation remains uncertain, but the company still has a long way to go before it can call Activision Blizzard its own. On top of this, various ActiBlizz employees already are showing immense optimism for the Microsoft buyout, citing the potential for "creative freedom" and Kotick leaving the building.
Raven's QA testers had been shopping the unionization for several months, dealing union cards to bolster its forthcoming conception. Although among the first of its kind, Raven's Game Workers Alliance Union comes second in North America to the union under independent studio Vodeo Games, which was birthed in December.
These endeavors in unionization aim to amend the many years' worth of instability in gaming's internal workplace culture, from sexual harassment to the prevalence of burnout from overworking. Both Vodeo Games and Raven's unions may not be the last of their kind as the industry fights back to the toxic workplace culture it has long propagated.
