California'sDepartment of Fair Employment and Housing suedActivision Blizzard in July 2021 with claims of having fostered atoxic"frat boy" work culture in which women were routinely subject to harassment and discrimination. The company's dismissive response upset employees, who sought to see the company's workplace issues addressed. Activision Blizzard, worth $65 billion,[1] employs about 10,000 people.[2] A Better ABK, a worker advocacy group, formed in response to the allegations to push for company change.[3]
A Better ABK organized two walkouts at Activision Blizzard in 2021 in response to the sexual harassment case against the company.[4] In July, the group organized a "Walkout for Equality" for specific internal policy changes on topics including arbitration, diversity, and recruitment. Another walkout in November followed a report inThe Wall Street Journal that CEOBobby Kotick had known and not acted on harassment and abuse claims. Over 100 employees demonstrated outside Blizzard's headquarters[5][6] and 1,700 workers signed a petition for Kotick's resignation.[7]
During the same period, the ABK Workers Alliance took several public actions. The group listed four demands: endingforced arbitration, more inclusive hiring protocol, increased compensation policy transparency, and an audit of the company's internal policies by a neutral third party.[8] The Alliance objected to Kotick's choice of legal counsel to audit the company's workplace[9] and in September, filed an unfair labor practice suit with theNational Labor Relations Board for what the group described as intimidation and coersion to prevent their discussion ofwage disparity and forced arbitration policy.[10] As part of a series of changes announced in response to the sexual harassment lawsuit, the company agreed to waive forced arbitration in cases about sexual harassment and discrimination.[11] Their demand met, the alliance celebrated.[12] In the time afterThe Wall Street Journal report on the CEO, one of the Alliance's main organizers, senior test analystJessica Gonzalez, left the company for personal reasons.[13]
In early December 2021, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard based in Wisconsin that supports theCall of Duty series,Raven Software, fired 12quality assurance workers—about a third of the team. The employees had just completed a five-week, end-of-year "crunch" overtime period and the team had been promised pay restructuring for higher salaries. The team and other workers walked out in response. Later in the week, a group, as the ABK Workers Alliance, formally announced that the multi-day walkout had become an open-endedstrike action, and they were both raising funds for astrike fund and beginning a union drive. Ultimately, 20 quality assurance workers and 60 other staff participated in the strike, from Raven's 300 total. Since the group was not unionized, the strike did not have union protections. Forgoing salaries during the work stoppage, the group's strike fund sought to offset the workers' lost wages.[7][2][4][14] The fund surpassed $350,000 by early January 2022.[15] TheCommunication Workers of America aided the organizing workers, who began signing union cards.[7]
The quality assurance workers announced their intent to unionize with the Communication Workers of America'sCampaign to Organize Digital Employees as the Game Workers Alliance in late January 2022. They offered to end the strike, contingent upon the companyrecognizing the union. The Alliance wants more realistic development timelines, less crunch time, more transparency from management, more career development opportunities, and more empowerment of underrepresented voices.[2][4][14] Activision Blizzard denied their request tovoluntarily recognize the union.[16]
During the ABK Workers Alliance's organizing efforts,Microsoft announced that it would beacquiring the company forUS$70 billion. The organized workers said that their goals of workplace improvements and securing employee rights remained unchanged.[2]
As Activision Blizzard sought to settle its sexual harassment lawsuit with theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission, the CWA objected on behalf of an employee affected by harassment and retaliation, seeking a fairness hearing.[17]
Following the Raven QA team's successful unionization, the 20-member QA team ofBlizzard Albany announced a unionization drive in July 2022 as GWA Albany.[21] The vote passed (14–0), forming the second union at an Activision Blizzard subsidiary.[22]
In June 2024, anunfair labor practice was filed against Lionbridge by CWA alleging that the company illegally terminated the employment of 160 Activision software testers inBoise, Idaho, in retaliation for exercising their right to participate in concerted union activities. As part of the layoff, CWA also alleges that workers were required to sign an overly broadconfidentiality agreement and an illegal waiver of certain rights protected by theNational Labor Relations Act.[25]
A month later, 500 artists, designers, engineers, producers, and quality assurance testers who work onWorld of Warcraft voted to unionize. This is the second "wall to wall" union (followingBethesda Game Studios) to represents all employees in a Microsoft bargaining unit, regardless of their job title.[26] The same day, 60 QA testers at Blizzard's Austin office, who work on various games includingDiablo 4 andHearthstone, also voted to unionize and formed the union "Texas Blizzard QA United-CWA".[27]
On March 27, 2025,user-researchers launched "Activision User Research Union-CWA" the first union for UX workers.[28] In May 2025, developers who work on theOverwatch franchise launched "Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA" after a super-majority of developers signed union authorization cards.[29] In August 2025, the team of developers working on theDiablo franchise also unionized with CWA.[30] In October 2025, more than 100 developers who work on the gamesHearthstone andWarcraft Rumble unionized with CWA, approximately a week after 400 workers across Blizzard's platform and technology department also voted to unionize with CWA.[31][32]
