{"id":1196469,"date":"2026-02-18T10:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cjBZmxW8RpN8mNgHokqM2U"},"modified":"2026-02-18T10:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:26:00","slug":"nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 200 Overwatch developers at Blizzard form a new union: The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p>Nearly 200 Overwatch developers at Activision Blizzard have formed a new union under the Communications Workers of America called The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild\u2014CWA, &#8220;a wall-to-wall unit that includes game developers across all disciplines, including design, production, engineering, art, sound, and quality assurance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cwa-union.org\/news\/releases\/overwatch-game-developers-secure-union-recognition-communications-workers-america\" target=\"_blank\">announcement<\/a> of the new union followed confirmation from a neutral arbitrator that an &#8220;overwhelming majority&#8221; of employees had either signed a union authorization card or indicated support for unionization online. The CWA says Microsoft has recognized the union.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;After a long history of layoffs, crunch, and subpar working conditions in the global videogame industry, my coworkers and I are thrilled to be joining the broader union effort to organize our industry for the better, which has been long overdue,&#8221; senior test analyst II and organizing committee member Foster Elmendorf said. &#8220;Workers organizing themselves and striving for better conditions as a group allows us to present initiatives that would not only improve our workplace but videogames overall.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There has indeed been a big push toward unionization in recent years, and Microsoft has earned some credit in years past for not actively opposing such efforts: In 2022, for instance, the CWA trumpeted a &#8220;ground-breaking <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/microsoft-reaches-ground-breaking-agreement-with-union-representing-game-workers\/\">labor neutrality agreement<\/a>&#8221; with Microsoft over unionization at Activision Blizzard, which at that time was not officially a part of Microsoft, and in 2023 it ran a <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/microsoft-runs-pro-union-ad-in-push-to-acquire-activision-blizzard\/\">pro-union ad<\/a> in the Washington Post that was endorsed by the CWA. The following year, World of Warcraft senior producer Samuel Cooper gave credit to Microsoft for helping to facilitate the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/gaming-industry\/world-of-warcraft-dev-says-the-game-s-500-strong-union-spurred-on-by-2021-controversies-has-been-aided-by-the-move-to-microsoft\/\">unionization of WoW devs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft isn&#8217;t the only beneficiary of game industry unionization efforts. One major move occurred in March, when the CWA announced <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/gaming-industry\/game-developers-launch-north-americas-first-industry-wide-union-to-build-worker-power-irrespective-of-studio-and-current-job-status\/\">United Videogame Workers\u2014CWA<\/a>, an industry-wide, &#8220;direct-join organization&#8221; that&#8217;s open to developers regardless of where they work (as long as it&#8217;s in North America) or whether their individual workplace is already organized.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/cwaunion.bsky.social\/post\/3lor72ecfy22n\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:1069px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:102.34%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"jaTgtPicrqooo5tuTYUpA7\" name=\"cwa\" alt=\"We are proud to welcome Overwatch game developers into our union!\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild.png\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"1069\" height=\"1094\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: CWA (Twitter))<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Much of the drive to unionize arises from the absolutely brutal layoffs of <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/the-impact-of-16000-games-industry-layoffs-in-one-chart\/\">2023<\/a> and <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/2025-gaming-industry-vibe-shift-live-service-reckoning-2024-layoffs-trends\/\">2024<\/a>, which saw tens of thousands of people in the industry put out of work. Speaking to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/overwatch-2-blizzard-team-4-union-microsoft-1851779922\" target=\"_blank\">Kotaku<\/a>, Blizzard test analyst Simon Hedrick said &#8220;the biggest issue was the layoffs at the beginning of 2024,&#8221; when Microsoft <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/microsoft-cuts-1900-jobs-at-activision-blizzard-and-xbox-blizzard-president-mike-ybarra-leaves-the-company-and-the-studios-survival-game-has-been-cancelled\/\">cut 1,900 jobs<\/a> at Activision Blizzard and Xbox. &#8220;People were gone out of nowhere and there was nothing we could do about it,&#8221; Hedrick said. &#8220;What I want to protect most here is the people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Overwatch UI artist Sadie Boyd, who was previously with Arkane Austin before Microsoft closed the studio, expressed similar sentiments on <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Wonder_Phoenix\/status\/1920933908989821343\">X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not only do I get to work alongside an incredibly talented team, but also with some of the most thoughtful and kindhearted people I&#8217;ve ever encountered,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;It&#8217;s because of their nature that we unionize\u2014to protect them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Wonder_Phoenix\/status\/1920933908989821343\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:1115px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:110.31%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"ve7GAznx5GBm8HYsDQzmhF\" name=\"sadie\" alt=\"One year ago, my previous studio, Arkane Austin, was shutdown by MicrosoftMy third day at Blizzard, Microsoft laid off over 400 peopleBy the end of my first week, I was invited to join the Overwatch union organizing committeeAnd today, we've officially unionized \ud83c\udf89\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild-1.png\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"1115\" height=\"1230\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Sadie Boyd (Twitter))<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The bloom might be starting to come off Microsoft&#8217;s seemingly pro-union rose a little bit: In April 2025, members of the ZeniMax Workers United-CWA union voted &#8220;overwhelmingly&#8221; to authorize union leadership to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/gaming-industry\/zenimax-workers-union-votes-to-authorize-a-strike-against-microsoft-over-stalled-contract-negotiations\/\">call for a strike<\/a> if contract negotiations, which have been underway for nearly two years, continue to fail to make meaningful headway.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, the Communications Workers of America says more than 2,600 people at Microsoft studios have joined CWA-affiliated unions since the labor neutrality agreement was reached, enabling them to &#8220;collectively push for workplace improvements like layoff protections, job security, wage increases, limits to outsourcing, and remote work protections.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"product\"><a data-dimension112=\"d01c138b-e322-4543-8b63-76085d15c502\" data-action=\"Deal Block\" data-label=\"2025 games\" data-dimension48=\"2025 games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure \" >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:400px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"Vji3V6i3HDWUHeQ22PrjFL\" name=\"New Project (8).jpg\" caption=\"\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" credit=\"\" class=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/new-games-2025-upcoming-pc-release-schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-dimension112=\"d01c138b-e322-4543-8b63-76085d15c502\" data-action=\"Deal Block\" data-label=\"2025 games\" data-dimension48=\"2025 games\" data-dimension25=\"\"><strong>2025 games<\/strong><\/a>: This year&#8217;s upcoming releases<strong><br \/><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/the-best-pc-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best PC games<\/strong><\/a>: Our all-time favorites<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/the-50-best-free-pc-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Free PC games<\/strong><\/a>: Freebie fest<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/best-fps-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best FPS games<\/strong><\/a>: Finest gunplay<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/best-rpgs-of-all-time\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best RPGs<\/strong><\/a>: Grand adventures<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/the-best-co-op-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best co-op games<\/strong><\/a>: Better together<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/gaming-industry\/nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly 200 Overwatch developers at Activision Blizzard have formed a new union under the Communications Workers of America called The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild\u2014CWA, &#8220;a wall-to-wall unit that includes game developers across all disciplines, including design, production, engineering, art, sound, and quality assurance.&#8221; The announcement of the new union followed confirmation from a neutral arbitrator that an &#8220;overwhelming majority&#8221; of employees had either signed a union authorization card or indicated support for unionization online. The CWA says Microsoft has recognized the union. &#8220;After a long history of layoffs, crunch, and subpar working conditions in the global videogame industry, my coworkers and I are thrilled to be joining the broader union effort to organize our industry for the better, which has been long overdue,&#8221; senior test analyst&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1196470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[5491],"class_list":["post-1196469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pc-gamer","tag-gaming-industry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin 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