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About 600 workers in Activision Central Quality Assurance joined Communications Workers of America (CWA) in March 2024, and Microsoft recognized the union after a neutral arbitrator confirmed majority support. CWA called it the “largest group of union-represented workers at any U.S. game studio” at the time. That was a claim about one bargaining unit in 2024—not a verified ranking of every video-game union today.
How many Activision QA workers joined?
CWA said approximately 600 employees in Activision Central Quality Assurance joined Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA. The workers were in California, Texas, and Minnesota. A neutral arbitrator confirmed that a majority had shown support, either by signing authorization cards or indicating support through an online portal. Microsoft then recognized CWA as the bargaining representative for the employees.
Microsoft’s statement, attributed to Amy Pannoni, its vice president and deputy general counsel for HR legal, said: “We maintained our commitment to remain neutral during the organizing campaign, and following this vote, we recognize the Communications Workers of America (CWA) as the bargaining representative for the Activision Publishing Central Quality Assurance employees.” CWA’s March 8, 2024 announcement also reported that more than 1,000 video-game workers at Microsoft had union representation at that time; that was a separate, broader total, not the Activision unit’s size.
What did “biggest union” mean?
CWA’s 2024 description was specific: the Activision QA unit was the “largest group of union-represented workers at any U.S. game studio.” It did not establish that the unit was the world’s largest game-worker union, the largest labor union of any kind, or that it would remain the biggest. The claim also described a single group of workers, not CWA’s total video-game membership.
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Those distinctions matter when comparing organizing figures. A count may refer to one employer-recognized bargaining unit, a group that won a representation election, or all video-game workers represented by a union across multiple workplaces. The figures also vary by date and geography, so they should not be added or ranked as if they measure the same population.
Is it still the biggest?
The available later figures show broader organizing, but they do not give a new headcount for Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA. In October 2025, CWA said it represented more than 4,000 U.S. video-game workers and described itself as the industry’s largest union. That is CWA’s union-wide aggregate claim, not an updated count of the Activision QA unit. The available sources do not establish an independent, current membership ranking of every video-game union.
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Other dated CWA figures describe organizing at Microsoft-owned studios, rather than changes to the Activision QA unit. In March 2025, CWA said Activision user researchers had won recognition, bringing the number of workers organized under Microsoft’s neutrality agreement above 2,000. In May 2025, CWA reported that nearly 200 Overwatch developers had joined CWA and that more than 2,600 workers at Microsoft-owned studios had formed unions with the organization. These are separate, time-specific totals.
In March 2025, workers in the U.S. and Canada also launched United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433, an industry-wide direct-join union. Its model and geographic scope differ from a recognized bargaining unit at one employer; its existence is another reason not to treat “biggest” as a simple, settled comparison. CWA’s announcement describes the launch.
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How did Microsoft’s neutrality agreement work?
Microsoft and CWA announced a labor-neutrality agreement on June 13, 2022. Microsoft said it would apply at Activision Blizzard beginning 60 days after the acquisition closed; it did not apply to Activision workers before the transaction closed. The agreement set out a process for organizing, not an automatic union or certification.
- A neutral approach to union organizing.
- Communication between workers and union representatives.
- A streamlined, technology-supported process for workers to decide whether to join.
- Confidentiality for workers’ choices.
- Expedited arbitration if the parties could not resolve a disagreement.
According to CWA, Activision Central QA was the first group at Activision to organize under the agreement. Microsoft’s June 13, 2022 announcement sets out the framework. Its purpose was to establish a process in which workers could decide whether to organize; the arbitrator’s confirmation of majority support and Microsoft’s recognition came later.
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Why did the QA workers organize?
Workers quoted by CWA identified higher wages and career opportunities as motivations. Kara Fannon, a Functional QA Tester 1 and member of Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA, said: “We wanted to see improvements in the workplace, including higher wages and getting more career opportunities, and so were eager to unionize.”
Fannon also challenged the idea that quality assurance is a straightforward path into other game-industry roles: workers might, at best, see internal job postings before they become public. These are workers’ stated reasons and experience, not a published study measuring outcomes for this particular unit.
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How does the unit fit Activision’s union history?
The first CWA-represented group at Activision Blizzard was Raven Software’s quality assurance team, which won an election in May 2022. CWA reported that 86% of votes supported the union, which became Game Workers Alliance-CWA. Raven’s election was distinct from the later recognition process for Activision Central QA.
After nearly three years of bargaining, Raven workers ratified their first contract in August 2025. CWA said it included a guaranteed 10% wage increase over two years, limits on mandatory overtime, and layoff protections. Those provisions belong to the Raven contract; they are not terms of the 2024 Activision Central QA unit.
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