Staff from Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision-Blizzard, have formed a worker’s union after an official vote ruled 19-3 in favour. This is the first time a AAA developer has had a union of this kind.

Of the 28 quality assurance testers eligible to vote, 24 voted and two were declared invalid after a challenge, resulting in a 19-3 final count.

Activision-Blizzard, who were first exposed for workplace misconduct 10 months ago, have repeatedly stopped the formation of the union by splitting up developers into different departments and filing two appeals to the National Labor relations board.

Raven Software also terminated the contracts of several quality assurance testers following the empty promise of a wage increase, an event that proved to be the catalyst of union formation.

Credit: Raven

Furthermore, Activision-Blizzard who previously had not recognized the Game Workers Alliance (CWA), will now be forced to as a result of the vote.

The formation of this union is not only a win for quality assurance testers and Activision-Blizzard staff, but for developers at AAA studios all across the US. The union still needs to be developed and bargaining is yet to begin, but it has set a major precedent for AAA companies everywhere.