Activision Blizzard recently announced that they're upgrading their game testing temps to full-time jobs, complete with pay increases and access to company benefits. However, there's a catch: a major one.
Irvine, CA - July 28: Several hundred Activision Blizzard employees stage a walkout which they say is in a response from company leadership to a lawsuit highlighting alleged harassment, inequality, and more within the company outside the gate at Activision Blizzard headquarters on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 in Irvine, CA.
According to Eurogamer, the only employees eligible for full-time positions are those who won't seek unionization. As such, this only applies to 1,100 employees on temporary contracts starting July 1st, 2022, except those working at Raven Software.
If you're unaware, Raven Software workers are the ones who have been actively seeking the formation of a workers' union. As per ActiBlizz's official statement, the company itself is "prohibited" from implementing compensation changes at Raven "at this time."
They gave the company the legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act, reports The Verge. Furthermore, all temps getting upgraded will now be paid a minimum hourly rate of $20, effective Apr. 17.
ActiBlizz's Jessica Taylor, who serves as the VP for corporate communications, stated that the decision is the company's way of "refining how their development teams work together to create all of the games they're offering." She also mentioned how the company's QA (Quality Assurance, aka game testers) is critical to their efforts, which is why they're the target of the sweeping change.
As expected, people who are intimate with the Raven Software employees' moves to establish a union call this move a bad one. In a report by Bloomberg, Communications Workers of America secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens called the exclusion of Raven employees "especially galling."
According to her, this move is a proof that Activision Blizzard is trying to divide its workers and "undermine" unionization efforts from within the company.
Back in January, workers at Raven announced the formation of a 34-person union within the studio and were asking that they be voluntarily recognized. As per Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, this was the first-ever union in the AAA game industry:
BREAKING: Testers at Raven Software, a division of Activision, say they've formed a union and are asking for voluntary recognition. The 34-person unit is the first-ever union in the big-budget video game industry. Filed to Bloomberg Terminal, story coming shortly.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 21, 2022
What About Microsoft?
While many folks could assume that this is Activision Blizzard's way of stamping out labor unions, they're also wondering what eventual buyer Microsoft would think of this. Fortunately, there's already an answer.
Back in March, Microsoft made it clear that they have no plans to block a future ActiBlizz union from being established. The statement was shared by corporate VP & general counsel Lisa Tanzi, who also said that Microsoft respects the rights of the embattled developer/publisher's employees to choose whether they want to be represented by a labor union or not.
But the main problem with this is that Microsoft's $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard won't push through until next year (if it even gets approved). It is still under tight scrutiny from regulators who might think that the acquisition is a big, sweeping anti-competitive move. Notably, the deal is being handled by the "stricter" United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC's chairperson, Lina Khan, is a well-known harsh critic of Big Tech's anti-competitive practices.
Related: Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Called Out By Four US Senators Over 'Lack Of Accountability'
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Written by RJ Pierce
