A team of nearly 200 developers working on Overwatch have officially formed a union under the Communication Workers of America (CWA) banner, to strive for better workplace protections. As noted in a press release, this team joins dozens of others across Microsoft, with 2,600 workers now part of unions under this company.
Per one committee member, the new Overwatch union has been formed in direct response to “layoffs, crunch, and subpar working conditions in the global video game industry.” Under these conditions, anxiety about a lack of stability has grown, inspiring the formation of many union organisations.
As noted by Foster Elmendorf, senior test analyst II and organising committee member, by joining together, workers aim to strive for “better conditions as a group.” By forming a union, the team is also able to “present initiatives that would not only improve our workplace but video games overall.”
Unions, on the whole, allow for workers to collectively bargain with organisation management to fight for improved rights, including “layoff protections, job security, wage increases, limits to outsourcing, and remote work protections.”
With a neutral arbitrator now confirming the overwhelming majority of workers on Overwatch have either indicated they want union representation or signed a union authorisation card, and with Microsoft recognising the union, the formation of The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA (OWGG-CWA) is now in action. This is noted as being a “a wall-to-wall unit that includes game developers across all disciplines, including design, production, engineering, art, sound, and quality assurance.”
Read: The Elder Scrolls Online developers form union
“I’m organising because I believe in this company, our teams, and the work we do together,” Jess Castillo, senior test analyst II and organising committee member said in a press release. “Ultimately, when we’re supported and thriving, we can deliver the best possible experiences to our players, which is what brought all of us here in the first place.”
As noted, a variety of unions with similar goals have formed over the last few months, as conditions in the games industry continue to shift. In companies including ZeniMax (also owned by Microsoft) and Sega, many developers are now choosing to form unions with a view to protect staff, as overseen by the wider CWA.
Notably, there is also a wider union movement forming, with the all-encompassing United Videogame Workers-CWA union recently being created to protect video game workers, irrespective of workplace. As conditions continue to change, and stability in the industry lessens, we expect to hear plenty more stories like that of the Overwatch team.
