Unionization in the gaming industry continues to grow as Activision user research workers form a union under Microsoft.
A supermajority of research employees voted for unionization on Friday, per a press release from the Communication Workers of America (CWA). Microsoft voluntarily recognized the union, keeping with the company's commitments that were first laid out in 2022.
“We are excited to join our fellow game makers across the video game industry to show what’s possible when workers can freely build solidarity in the workplace. Many of us were mobilized to do something about the layoffs in 2023 and 2024, and now we can look out for each other with a union,” said organizing committee member and quantitative user researcher Nicolaas VanMeerten.
The Activision user research team joins over 2,000 other workers across Microsoft's gaming divisions that have already unionized, including Activision quality assurance (QA), Bethesda Game Studios, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft team, ZeniMax Online Studios, and ZeniMax QA.
The newly-formed union is looking to gain increased pay, job security, and transparency around promotions.
Activision user research provides essential services for numerous titles, including the blockbuster Call of Duty franchise, processing player data and gauging feedback in order to find solutions to problems.
Unions are continuing to grow across gaming
This news comes shortly after the CWA formed an industry-wide gaming union for workers in the U.S. and Canada that any workers can join, even those that were recently laid off from different companies.
Titled United Video Game Workers-CWA, the union already has over 350 members since it launched during the Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2025, with more joining daily.
Over 20,000 workers in the gaming industry were laid off over the last couple of years, with dozens of studios closed and games canceled. As companies continue to lay off employees while chasing higher profits, workers are now pushing back and demanding a seat at the bargaining table.
