Hundreds of Diablo devs unionize to combat AI, mass layoffs, 'passion tax' exploitation

Hundreds of Blizzard developers have unionized to fight what they call a "passion tax" in the games industry, which can weigh heavily on beleaguered workers.

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Microsoft has recognized another union in the video games industry as 450 game developers at Blizzard's Team 3 (Diablo) have voted to come together under the Communication Workers of America (CWA) labor union. The new union joins other recognized groups like ZeniMax Workers United, Raven Software's QA union, and World of Warcraft's collective of QA testers.

The unit, which includes game developers, artists, designers, engineers, and support staff across the Diablo franchise, is one of the largest wall-to-wall unions at a Microsoft-owned studio and builds off the momentum of Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development workers securing union representation and Microsoft workers securing historic contracts at ZeniMax Media and Raven Software.

As for the passion tax, one developer explains:

"My entire career as a developer has seen my peers and I paying the 'passion tax' for working in an industry that we love. At some point you have to choose between fight or flight, and forming a union is us doing just that - standing our ground in the industry," said Nav Bhatti, Team 3 Senior Software Engineer and organizing committee member.

Another says that the specter of layoffs feels like a Sword of Damocles weighing over everyone's heads:

"None of us should have to live with that constant worry that we might be let go at the drop of a hat. A union allows us to organize across the industry to make great games and protect the developers who create them from the constant pressures of layoffs, passion tax, and crunch," said Ryan Littleton, Team 3 Game Designer on Diablo and organizing committee member.

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The Diablo franchise remains one of the most lucrative series in Blizzard history, with Diablo IV achieving $666 million in game sales in just 5 days. Blizzard's quarterly operating profits hit a record $409 million after Diablo IV's release.

Diablo IV went on to make over $1 billion in lifetime revenue, $150 million of which is estimated to be from microtransactions.

Despite this success, Blizzard has been hit with layoffs as part of Microsoft's company-wide reorganization. So these Diablo developers voted to team up, unionize, and collectively bargain with Microsoft as a way to help better protect their jobs.

Also, the Diablo franchise just lost its guiding light with series general manager Rod Fergusson leaving the group to hop over to help 2K Games lead the troubled new BioShock game.

The industry remains volatile and unpredictable, but spending is still flowing, and gamers are still showing up en masse for specific games.