Overview

• The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA includes nearly 200 developers across all disciplines, from art and engineering to quality assurance and production.
• This is Blizzard's second wall-to-wall union, following the World of Warcraft team unionization in July 2024.
• Microsoft has officially recognized the union, with a neutral arbitrator confirming overwhelming worker support for representation.
• The unionization effort was driven by layoffs in early 2024, pay disparities, remote work restrictions, and demands for protections against crunch and severance.
• The union now faces the challenge of negotiating its first contract, a process the CWA alleges Microsoft has delayed in other union negotiations.