Blizzard quality assurance workers are unionizing.
Today, February 2, an overwhelming majority of quality assurance staff at Blizzard’s offices in Albany, New York, and Austin, Texas, voted to ratify a union contract at Microsoft.
The contract is intended to ensure lasting workplace protections for Blizzard QA workers, and is the result of a nearly two-year bargaining period that was kicked off by Albany-based Blizzard employees in May 2023. As a result of these negotiations, the contract will cover more than 60 workers in quality assurance roles across both locations, who will join local chapters 1118 and 6215 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
“After nearly two decades in the video game industry, it feels great to work with my fellow union members in ratifying a fair contract that makes it easier to see a real, long-term career in this work,” said CWA Local 6215 member and Blizzard Austin senior quality analyst Matt Gant. “This agreement gives us a better working environment with increased pay, benefits, and layoff protections that include recall rights and ensures that quality assurance work remains a stable and respected role for the workers who will build games long after us.”
Blizzard QA workers’ three-year union contract guarantees wage increases for the duration of the contract and includes enhanced regulations around AI use in the workplace intended to prevent AI from replacing or harming workers. It also includes protections on fair crediting for shipped video games, reasonable disability accommodations, protections for immigrant workers and restrictions on mandatory or excessive overtime hours.
“By forming a unified bargaining voice, our members strengthened their ability to secure meaningful improvements for everyone in their roles,” said CWA Local 6215 president Ron Swaggerty in a press release. “Video game workers continue to set the pace for what organizing and collective bargaining can achieve in 2026 and beyond.”
Blizzard QA workers’ successful push to unionize reflects game industry workers’ growing concerns over the futures of their jobs amid a historic wave of gaming industry layoffs. Their contract marks the third union contract to be ratified within Microsoft’s gaming division, following the ratification of union contracts with workers at ZeniMax in June 2025 and at Raven Software in August 2025.
“At a time when layoffs are hitting our industry hard, today is another big step in building a better future for video game workers at every level,” said CWA Local 1118 member and Blizzard Albany quality analyst Brock Davis in a press release. “For quality assurance testers, this contract provides us wages to live on, increased job security benefits, and guardrails around artificial intelligence in the workplace.”