This week, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced that more than 450 developers of Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo team have voted to unionize under the CWA. The successful outcome of this effort means workers will now be represented by CWA Local 9510 in Irvine, California; Local 1118 in Albany, New York; and Local 6215 in Austin, Texas.
The newly formed union will represent a wide range of jobs across Blizzard, including designers, engineers, artists, and support staff. Microsoft, Blizzard’s parent company, has officially recognized the union. This unionization campaign is not an isolated event at Blizzard, as earlier this month, the studio’s Story and Franchise Development team also voted to unionize.
“With every subsequent round of mass layoffs, I’ve witnessed the dread in my coworkers grow stronger because it feels like no amount of hard work is enough to protect us,” said Diablo producer and organizing committee member Kelly Yeo (via Game Developer). “This is just the first step for us joining a movement spreading across an industry that is tired of living in fear.”