Call of Duty employees officially unionize

Quality assurance employees that work for one of the biggest gaming franchises have formed a legally recognized union. The fight's not over.

Back in January, 34 quality assurance testers working for Call of Duty developer Raven Software formed an union titled The Game Workers Alliance.

The union was created in response to poor working conditions, restructuring, and broken promises from parent company Activision Blizzard.
Activision Blizzard denied the formal recognition of the union, meaning that the Game Workers Alliance had to receive permission from National Labor Relations Board instead.

With the final vote count of 19 "for" and 3 "against", The Game Workers Alliance is now a legally recognized union.

Activision Blizzard now has no choice but to legally consider the demands of this union, despite their disposition towards its formation.

This is a big deal for the industry, especially in its current state.

Although not the first video game union, this is the first US-based video game union at a major AAA gaming company.
This precedent could result in official unions forming at other large-scale gaming corporations, such as Ubisoft, very soon.

Activision Blizzard will likely be difficult to negotiate with for this fledgling union.

The company reportedly actively dissuaded employees to form a union in the first place through official correspondence and town halls.
The National Labor Relations Board recently deemed these practices illegal and are now pursuing legal action in turn.

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