Activision Blizzard Won't Recognize the Union of CoD Warzone Devs
Raven Software didn't get Activision Blizzard's approval to form a union, but the recently striking employees are planning to take matters into their own hands.
When the ABK Workers Alliance group announced the end of Raven Software workers' strike, it asked that its "good faith" actions be answered with the same. However, it seems to have miscalculated, because Activision Blizzard is not going to recognize the Games Workers Alliance union, established by the creators of Call of Duty: Warzone.
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The developers wanted the publisher to recognize their request by January 25, but they had to wait longer for a response. In a statement for Game Informer and The Washington Post Activision Blizzard asserted that it had considered recognizing the union formed by 34 Raven Software employees, but discussions with its representatives failed to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Therefore, the publisher refused to approve the union.
However, this is not the end of the matter. The union has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for legalization without Activision Blizzard's approval. Now it all depends on a vote inside Raven Software's quality department.
If more than half of the employees support the initiative, the organization will be approved and Activision Blizzard will have to de facto resume negotiations with the union. For now the publisher is expected to obstruct the proceedings with the sudden restructuring of Raven Software.
It's worth noting that this would be a major event in the US games market. After all, the Games Workers Alliance would represent the second game developer union in US history, with the first (Vodeo Workers United) having been recognized... in mid-December 2021.
