In a monumental move, over 500 developers at Blizzard Entertainment who work on the widely popular game World of Warcraft have voted to form a union. The newly established World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild, with the support of the Communication Workers of America (CWA), encompasses employees from diverse departments such as designers, engineers, artists, producers, and more. This union, inclusive of multiple disciplines, has become the largest wall-to-wall union within Microsoft.

The formation of the World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild comes just days after the Bethesda Game Studios union, which was announced as the largest wall-to-wall union within Microsoft at the time. These unions signal a significant shift in union organization strategies within the video game industry.

Kathryn Friesen, a quest designer on the World of Warcraft team, revealed that the union was born out of the desire to uphold one of Blizzard's core values, "every voice matters". Friesen acknowledged the deep care and camaraderie among employees, fueling the unionization effort and the fight for collective bargaining rights.

Paul Cox, a senior quest designer and Blizzard veteran, explained that actions were triggered by the company's response to California's discrimination lawsuit, feeling that the initial reactions were not in line with the company's proclaimed values. Consequently, Blizzard employees initiated walkouts, paving the way for the unionization efforts.

The World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild comprises more than 500 members spread across Blizzard offices in California and Massachusetts. Despite its substantial size, being the second largest union within Microsoft, behind Activision's 600-member QA union, Cox attributed the successful organization to Microsoft's labor neutrality agreement. This agreement allowed the unionization effort to be transparent, ensuring that no retaliation occurred.

Friesen expressed the simplicity in rallying support across different departments, with a majority of them having well above 50 percent union support. It is worth noting that interdisciplinary unions like the World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild are relatively rare in the video game industry due to the distinct needs and objectives of each department.

Within the video game industry, unionization efforts have predominantly been driven by QA workers, who historically have been among the lowest paid and least protected employees. Previously, the first unions at Activision Blizzard and Microsoft's game studios were comprised of QA workers. In addition to the World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild, another union consisting of QA workers has also emerged at Blizzard's Austin, Texas, office. Named the Blizzard Quality Assurance United-CWA, this 60-person unit includes QA testers for games like Diablo, Hearthstone, and other Blizzard titles.

The formation of the World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild has been met with enthusiasm, emphasizing the unity within the diverse workforce. With a "wall-to-wall union" mentality, the guild aims to highlight that QA is an integral part of the development process. The hope is that better workplace protections will be secured not only for QA employees but for the entire team.

The video game industry is witnessing a significant shift as unions continue to gain traction. The establishment of the World of Warcraft GameMakers Guild sets a precedent for inclusive and collaborative union movements within game development studios.