Wizards of the Coast, The development team behind Magic: the Gathering Arena have formed a union alongside the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to stand up for and enforce their rights as workers. The partnership will be known as UWOTC-CWA.
The move also marks the first unionization effort at the Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, a popular digital and tabletop studio based in Washington State, most known for developing an online version of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons.
“At Wizards, we’re organizing for a say in layoffs, accountability that runs up and down the chain, and a living wage that actually lets people build a life. I’m hopeful about what we can build here and being clear-eyed about why it’s necessary,” said UWOTC-CWA member Damien Wilson, a Senior Software Development Engineer for Magic: The Gathering Arena, in a statement.
He went on to say, “This isn’t just something that affects Wizards of the Coast; it’s how most American workplaces are set up: investor profit above all, even if it hurts those behind the products we all know and love. Unions are the missing counterweight to protect our craft.”
In a letter sent to management this morning, workers have outlined several issues that they hope to address as a union, including protections over layoffs and remote work, guardrails over generative AI usage and mandatory crunch time, and increased transparency and equity in the workplace. “We know the workers who make the game can and should be treated better, and our aim is to show that to the world through our union efforts,” the letter reads.
Workers have given management until the end of the week to voluntarily recognize their union. To ensure a timely certification process, workers have also filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
“We’re all in this together”
UWOTC-CWA member Xib Vaine, a Producer for Magic: The Gathering Arena, said, “To me, a union means community. It means recognizing that we’re all in this together and making sure we all have a voice. It means that when we succeed, we succeed together. It means that we all believe a better world is possible, and we are all going to work together to bring it forth so we can all live and work in that better world together.”
This announcement expands the growing union efforts specifically in the tabletop roleplaying games industry. Over 4,000 workers have organized across the gaming industry to expand game worker solidarity as part of CWA’s Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA), spanning from triple-A studios in Microsoft’s gaming division to indie publishers like Heart Machine, which voluntarily recognized their union last month.
“Today’s union announcement is a milestone not just for these workers but for the games industry as a whole. Whether someone is designing digital worlds or crafting tabletop experiences, every worker deserves job security, fair compensation, and a seat at the table,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister, in a statement.
Workers who either have been affected by the industry’s volatile layoffs or are freelance have also been joining the fight under CWA’s direct-join formation, United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433 (UVW-CWA), which officially launched in 2025. UVW-CWA now has nearly 600 members across the United States and Canada and will be hosting their inaugural Game Workers Conference virtually on May 22 and May 23.