The growing formation of unions across Microsoft’s game studios, particularly at Blizzard, has been something we’ve been keeping a track of for some time, and that of course includes the one just recently created among employees at the developer’s story and franchise (SFD) team. The reasons for this widespread effort shouldn’t be too surprising to gamers who follow the news, but if you’re looking for even more context, a Eurogamer interview with some recently unionized workers should provide some direct insight.

According to video editor Alison Venato and SFD associate producer Sammi Kay, it boils down to achieving a sense of job stability (and a push against contract work), insight into business decisions that will affect workers, assurance that pay scales will adjust with inflation and local cost of living in Irvine, California, and putting up guardrails for AI tool use. In other words, developers are organizing to protect themselves against the tumult that continues to jar the games industry at the rank-and-file level.

“We understand companies need to make money, but we were bought in the largest tech acquisition of all time, so obviously we have value,” Venato says. “Our union can work with the leadership to create a situation that’s beneficial to everyone. […] There’s a disconnect between what the companies and leadership are expecting from the industry and the workers who are developing that content.”

Kay also points out that many who work at Blizzard are deeply committed to the studio and its legacy – and the defense of that legacy. “Things have changed due to many factors, including the pandemic, and the age of Blizzard as a company and it evolving, including with the acquisition by Microsoft,” she says. “We’re unionizing because we’re attached to how special Blizzard is […] We want to protect what we have and make it better.”