Blizzard Workers Secure Historic Contract Covering AI Use & Layoff Protections

Blizzard Entertainment employees, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), signed a notable contract with the Microsoft-owned studio to protect their rights

According to the announcement, the deal has been two years in the making, with 1,900 employees on one side. The agreement covers roughly a dozen union-represented teams, including the teams working on the studio's major titles like World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and Hearthstone, as well as Platform & Technology and Story and Franchise Development units.

"This contract allows us to continue setting new standards for this work," said Platform & Technology bargaining committee member and Principal Software Engineer Daniel Weltz. Workers secured a wide range of protections, from pay raises and a three-day hybrid office schedule to grievance procedures and disability accommodations.

Apart from this, the important addition is that Blizzard must now "discuss, evaluate, and bargain" with the union before introducing any AI tools into the workplace.

The contract also provided the workers with guarantees in case of layoffs: employees will also have recall rights, allowing them to apply for open positions across any Blizzard bargaining unit for 14 months after their layoff is announced. Union workers have also secured an additional four weeks of severance pay, regardless of how long they've been employed.

"This contract marks the beginning of a new era at Blizzard Entertainment," said Overwatch bargaining committee member and Quality Analyst Simon Hedrick. He also expressed hope that one day such rules would be industry-wide. "I believe that the positive change we have won will ripple out and help make the games industry as a whole a better place for workers and players alike. This contract is the start of something greater, and I urge everyone to remember: when we fight together, we win together."

"CWA members at Blizzard are leading the way for all XBOX studios, showing what can be achieved when video game workers have a strong voice in shaping their studios for the better," said Claude Cummings, Jr., President of CWA.

The newly achieved rules are specifically important for the employees of Blizzard, as Xbox, its parent company, announced and conducted major layoffs in July, with at least 1,600 workers across the company's studios, including Blizzard, being let go. Last year, some employees of the Warcraft Rumble team were also reportedly laid off.

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