Blizzard's tech teams vote to unionize, join alongside Diablo and World of Warcraft unions

Hundreds of Blizzard's tech developers have unionized with the Communication Workers of America.

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As the video games industry labor market continues to contract, more workers are unionizing in the effort to secure a better foothold in a volatile sector. It's been revealed that almost 400 Blizzard developers have chosen to organize under the CWA labor union, joining other unions within Microsoft's walls.

"We are forming a union to hold leadership accountable and to ensure that we can focus on building amazing experiences for the gaming community," said organizing committee member and Principal Software Engineer Daniel Weltz.

• Read more: Hearthstone developers unionize at Blizzard, join World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo teams
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• Read more: Hundreds of Diablo devs unionize to combat AI, mass layoffs, 'passion tax' exploitation

The press release confirms that the union consists of members of Blizzard's platform and technology group, a division that leads critical foundational infrastructures required for game development.

The announcement comes after both the Diablo and World of Warcraft teams voted to unionize, the latter forming The World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild - CWA Union (WoWGG-CWA).

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/99526/blizzards-world-of-warcraft-team-unionizes-as-devs-push-back-against-volatile-games-market/index.html

In a bid to combat artificial intelligence, 450 developers associated with the Diablo franchise voted to organize.

"Today, nearly 400 video game workers within Blizzard's Platform & Technology department have voted strongly in favor of union representation with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

"Over 100 video game workers from other bargaining units at Activision Blizzard and Microsoft studios joined the World of Warcraft Bargaining Committee for a solidarity walk as contract negotiations continued.

"These newly represented units include software engineers, project and product managers, graphic designers, and more for Activision Blizzard's Battle.net, the multi-functional gaming platform home to all Blizzard online products, managing Blizzard's online services, website development, in-game purchases, and account management. Workers within these units also work on localization, QA testing, and customer support for other Blizzard products.

Both units will be represented by CWA Local 9510 in Irvine, Calif., and CWA Local 6215 in Austin, Texas. Microsoft has recognized both units"