It's a big day for pro-union activists within Blizzard and the gaming industry, as a group of QA testers for the Diablo series have won the right to form a union. After weeks and months of litigation, the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has accepted the petition from Blizzard Albany, formerly known as Vicarious Visions, with a vote pending over the coming weeks.Under both their current and previous studio name, Blizzard Albany has worked on titles such as Diablo 2: Resurrected, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, and Crash Bandicoot: The N.Sane Trilogy. The studio is currently working on the upcoming Diablo 4 for PC and console. Last month, Blizzard announced that Diablo 4 will have a closed beta test launching in November, with an open beta to follow sometime in 2023.The latest efforts from Blizzard Albany come after a failed union busting attempt from Activision Blizzard and its lawyers. In a recent request to the NLRB, Activision Blizzard demanded every single employee of the Albany office be allowed to vote for or against unionization. Further, the company argued that QA testers working on different games should not belong within the same collective bargaining unit. However, the NLRB denied the request entirely from Activision Blizzard leadership and allowed the voting process at Blizzard Albany to begin unhindered.
Ballots will be sent to the studio's QA staff within a week, with the final voting results submitted to the NLRB by November 18. 21 QA testers at Blizzard Albany will be casting the ballots to decide the fate of the potential union. Should the vote go through, Blizzard Albany will join fellow Blizzard studio Raven Software in the Game Worker's Alliance (GWA) union, the first major union in the industry. Raven Software's QA team formally unionized back in May, with efforts to unionize starting back in January. Raven Software's vote to unionize passed by way of the majority of eligible QA staff voting yes, with 19 voting for unionization, and three voting against it.
Despite the ongoing union busting attempts by Activision Blizzard management, Microsoft has previously stated it will recognize any unions that form. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is subject to regulatory approval and is planned to be finalized in 2023. The unionization efforts of Raven Software and Blizzard Albany are just two parts of the growing unionization effort within gaming, with the NLRB ready to step in to bring companies and any newly-formed unions to the negotiating table.
Source: Eurogamer