Call of Duty publishers Activision Blizzard say they will begin negotiations with the 27-person Raven Software union shortly

Workers at Raven Software voted 19-3 to being a union. Now their bosses are going to start ‘good faith’ discussions with them and create a collective bargaining agreement.

Activision Blizzard, publishers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and many other games, has officially recognised the union that was recently started by 27 QA employees at Raven Software.

After years of discussions surrounding working practices at ActiBlizz, and many more about the gaming industry as a whole, it’s the first example of a massive company in the sphere recognising a union, which is one of the first to even be formed.

“I wanted to share the news that we will begin negotiations with the Communications Workers of America related to the 27 quality assurance employees at Raven Software, the majority of whom have chosen to be represented by this union” reads the statement from Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, released today.

“We will meet CWA leaders at the bargaining table and work toward an agreement that supports the success of all our employees,” he continues, saying that Activision Blizzard wishes to be the “best, most welcoming and inclusive workplace.” He goes on to mention the company’s investment in QA over the past years.

There are no details given as to when discussions will begin, and the CWA (Communications Workers of America) has yet to issue its own statement. It is, however, certainly a win for workers in the sphere, and could easily lead to an avalanche of other unionisation efforts across the games industry in North America.

Unionisation efforts first began at Raven Software in January with strikes, and the vote to create the union passed 19-3 on May 23. Naturally, out of 10,000 global employees, it’s hardly complete coverage, but as the first of its kind there’s very far it can grow from here.

Raven Software generally work on QA for the Call of Duty series - bug-testing and quality-checks, among much more work. It is widely regarded as one of the most thankless jobs in game development, and is one of the most underpaid compared to peers in marketing, programming, and design.

Activision Blizzard has previously attempted to stifle efforts, contesting the vote at a National Labor Relations Board meeting. They were rebuffed, the NLRB rejecting their claim that the entire company of Raven Software had to vote for a union.