Xbox head Phil Spencer has announced that he will recognise Raven Software’s newly formed union once Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through.As reported by Kotaku, Spencer said in an internal all-hands meeting that he and deputy general counsel Linda Norman had been educating themselves on unions and that they’d support and recognise quality assurance staff at Activision Blizzard studio Raven Software who had recently voted to form a union.Credit: MicrosoftMicrosoft will not oppose Raven Software’s union once Activision Blizzard deal is finalised”Linda Norman and I have been spending a lot of time educating myself on unions,” Spencer said. “We absolutely support employees’ right to organise and form unions.”Microsoft is not linked with Raven Software’s Game Workers Alliance or the Communication Workers of America, but once the Activision Blizzard deal is finalised, Spencer said Microsoft would not oppose the union. “Once the deal closes, we would absolutely support [an] employees’ organisation that’s in place,” he said. “We think it is a right of employees and something that can be a part of a relationship between a company and people who work at the company.”The Game Workers Alliance, which is the first union at a major North American games studio, was recognised earlier this week in a landslide 19-3 vote. The push to form a union began in December 2021 after a dozen QA staff learned they were being let go despite Call of Duty: Warzone being a success. This led to walkouts by staff, a two-month-long strike, and eventually the formation of the Game Workers Alliance in January. Speaking after the vote, Raven Software QA tester Becka Aigner told The Washington Post, “Now that the fight for recognition is through, we can focus our efforts on negotiations. We’ll fight for respect, fight for better wages, better benefits, better work-life balance, fight for sustainability and job security, and continue to fight for our fellow workers in solidarity.”Microsoft president Brad Smith recently revealed that Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is “moving fast,” though it is still under scrutiny from the FTC and European and UK regulators.
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