BioWare contractor Keywords Studios is seeking to form a union.
Anthem
A group of contracted staffers working for Keywords Studios which supports BioWare, the developer behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, is moving toward possible unionization. According to an application filed with the Alberta Labor Relations Board on April 20, Keywords Studios staff at the BioWare office in Edmonton is preparing for a union vote.
The notice published by Alberta’s Labor Relations Board which was posted on Reddit reads that the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Canada Union, Local No. 401 has applied to become the "certified bargaining agent" for a group of employees of Keywords Studios "compromising All employees employed in development support" at BioWare Edmonton office.
Keywords Studios is a video game industry services company that provides video game studios a wide range of services including art services, localization, and QA testing. According to the company's website, it worked with many high-profile clients like Ubisoft, Tencent, Bandai Namco, Google, and Microsoft. BioWare’s Edmonton headquarters is also one of its clients with Keywords developers being listed in the credits for BioWare's Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
It's currently unclear how many employees are seeking to unionize as well as their positions at the company are also unknown. EA, Keywords Studios, and UFCW Local 401 didn't immediately comment on the issue.
The news follows recent labor organizing efforts at other game studios – in December, indie studio Vodeo was the first one to unionize in North America followed by QA workers from Activision Blizzard's Raven Software, the developer responsible for Call of Duty: Warzone, who announced the formation of a union in January.
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