Another Activision Blizzard studio is working to unionize

Workers at the studio formerly known as Vicarious Visions attempt to unionize. On Tuesday, Blizzard Albany quality assurance staff publicly announced that they had filed a union election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In a Twitter thread, the group said it was seeking representation from the Communications Workers of America.

The roughly 20 workers involved in the effort are called the Game Workers Alliance Albany, a nod to the first-ever union to form at Activision Blizzard. Like their colleagues at Raven Software, Blizzard Albany's quality assurance staff are seeking fairer compensation, more pay transparency, and better benefits. They also want to work with Activision Blizzard to create a process to resolve workplace issues, including employee misconduct.

"Quality assurance is currently an undervalued discipline in the games and software industries," the group said. "We strive to foster work environments where we are respected and compensated for our essential role in the development process." Blizzard Albany quality assurance workers say they asked Activision last week to voluntarily recognize their union. The publisher has acknowledged receipt of the request, but has not yet communicated its decision.

“Our top priority remains our employees. We deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union,” a spokesperson said. Activision Blizzard to Engadget, "We believe that a direct relationship between the company and its employees is the most productive relationship. The company will publicly and formally provide a response to the petition to the NLRB."

Before Activision brought Vicarious Visions to Blizzard in early 2021, the 200-person developer was one of the publisher's most trusted support studios. It worked on the excellent remaster of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 and on the PC port of Destiny 2. Most recently, as part of Blizzard, the studio remastered Diablo II.

In June, Microsoft announced that it would respect all of Activision Blizzard's unionization efforts following the conclusion of its $68.7 billion deal to buy the publisher. In doing so, the company signed a historic neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America. According to The Washington Post, Activision Blizzard employees, including some at Blizzard Albany, plan to stage a walkout on Thursday to demand better workplace protections following the cancellation of Roe v. Wade.

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