DOOM creators at id Software vote to unionize

id Software is the latest Microsoft-owned studio at ZeniMax to vote for union representation, with 165 Texas-based workers joining CWA Local 6215.

DOOM creators at id Software vote to unionize
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Senior Gaming Editor
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TL;DR: id Software developers in Texas have voted to unionize under the Communication Workers of America, joining other Microsoft-owned studios like Blizzard. This move aims to secure better protections against layoffs, crunch, and AI impacts, reflecting a growing trend of unionization in the volatile video game industry.

The Doom developers at id Software have voted to unionize under the Communication Workers of America in the attempt to gain more bargaining power in the volatile video games industry.

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More of Microsoft's video game developers are unionizing, this time with id Software in Texas. According to a new press release from the CWA union organization, 165 of id Software's Texas-based employees seek union representation.

The id Software teams join other wall-to-wall unions at other Microsoft-owned game divisions like Blizzard, whose various teams working on Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone have all voted to unionize in an attempt to secure better protections against layoffs, crunch work, and generative artificial intelligence--technology that Microsoft has significantly advanced with its MUSE generator.

The CWA notes that almost 1,600 games industry employees have joined unions throughout 2025 alone:

This year, nearly 1,600 workers behind some of the industry's biggest games have formed unions with CWA's Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA); now, there are over 3,600 union-represented workers at Microsoft altogether.

Below are direct quotes from id Software employees about the decision to unionize:

"The wall-to-wall organizing effort at id Software was much needed; it's incredibly important that developers across the industry unite to push back on all the unilateral workplace changes that are being handed down from industry executives," said CWA Local 6215 organizing committee member and id Software Producer Andrew Willis.

"The union is a way for us, the developers, to take back control of the industry we love and to ensure that it delivers high-quality products from high-quality workers who have health benefits and longevity beyond quarterly profits."

"I'm very proud to be a part of this effort to organize our studio, to have a voice in decisions that directly affect myself and my coworkers," said CWA Local 6215 organizing committee member and id Software Senior VFX Artist Caroline Pierrot.

"In an industry that has proven to be very unstable over the last few years, more unions means more power to the workers and a real shot at shaping the future of the industry for the better."