A strong majority of video game workers at Microsoft subsidiary id Software voted in favor of union representation with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
The 165 workers at id Software, the maker of games like Doom: The Dark Ages, will be members of CWA Local 6215 in Richardson, Texas. In accordance with their stated labor principles, Microsoft has recognized the union. Union protesters were present outside the Peacock Theater last night where The Game Awards was held. They held signs such as one with Microsoft’s gaming head Phil Spencer, saying he was “Wanted.” At the show, Doom: The Dark Ages won an awards for accessibility.
“The wall-to-wall organizing effort at id Software was much needed; it’s incredibly important that developers across the industry unite to push back on all the unilateral workplace changes that are being handed down from industry executives,” said CWA Local 6215 organizing committee member and id Software Producer Andrew Willis, in a statement. “The union is a way for us, the developers, to take back control of the industry we love and to ensure that it delivers high-quality products from high-quality workers who have health benefits and longevity beyond quarterly profits.”
id Software is a Texas-based video game production company behind the popular franchises Quake and Doom. With this latest unit including developers, artists, programmers, and more, workers at id Software now have a wall-to-wall union after quality assurance workers became the first group at Microsoft to secure union representation with CWA Local 6215 in 2023.
“I’m very proud to be a part of this effort to organize our studio, to have a voice in decisions that directly affect myself and my coworkers,” said CWA Local 6215 organizing committee member and id Software Senior VFX Artist Caroline Pierrot, in a statement. “In an industry that has proven to be very unstable over the last few years, more unions means more power to the workers and a real shot at shaping the future of the industry for the better.
Video game organizing across the industry has reached record levels in 2025 as a response to mass industry layoffs, sudden periods of crunch time, and unfair pay, the union said. This year, nearly 1,600 workers behind some of the industry’s biggest games have formed unions with CWA’s Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA); now, there are over 3,600 union-represented workers at Microsoft altogether.
“Remote work isn’t a perk. It’s a necessity for our health, our families, and our access needs. RTO policies should not be handed down from executives with no consideration for accessibility or our well-being,” said CWA Local 6215 organizing committee member and id Software Lead Services Programmer Chris Hays, in a statement. “With a union, we will have the opportunity to make sure that everyone has a voice in the things that matter most to us.”
“Texas has emerged as a force in building collective power for video game and tech workers across the state and across the industry,” said CWA Local 6215 President Ron Swaggerty, in a statement. “We look forward to sitting across the table from Microsoft to negotiate a contract that reflects the skill, creativity, and dedication these workers bring to every project.”
Alongside recent union recognition campaigns across the industry, over 500 video game workers have joined United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433 (UVW-CWA), an industry-wide video game union that launched at the 2025 Game Developer Conference.