Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
QA workers at Raven Software, the team behind Call of Duty: Warzone, have been on strike since December 2021 following parent company Activision Blizzard’s decision to not renew contracts for a dozen members of the team, laying them off from their positions. Last week, the group partnered with the CWA to create a new union in the Game Workers Alliance. Now asking for their union to be officially recognized by Activision Blizzard, ABetterABK has stated that the QA strike will end if that recognition is granted.
The ABetterABK Twitter account has been a primary vessel of communication for workers at the video game company, and is where we got our latest update on the ongoing events at Raven Software. “Pending the recognition of our union, the Raven QA strike has ended. Unused strike funds are being stored for future organizing/strike efforts.”
While many interpreted this as an official announcement of the end of the company’s strike, ABetterABK later clarified that the strike has not ended just yet. “we have asked to be recognized under GWA, *pending* refers to pending response from leadership. Either positive or negative. We are acting in good faith and asking for good faith.” If Activision Blizzard chooses to officially recognize the GWA and its demands, the workers at Raven will end their strike. If that recognition doesn’t come, the strike will continue for the foreseeable future.
The situation at Activision Blizzard has been constantly evolving over the past several months. The last wrinkle came when the parent company opted to layoff several QA testers at Raven, despite reassurance that contracts would be worked out. This led to the QA strike that is currently ongoing. For future updates on what’s happening at Raven Software, stick with us here on Shacknews.