Raven Software ends QA strike action in light of unionisation

Raven Software's QA team has ended its strike action.

As Matt helpfully summarised for us a couple of days back, the strike began when around a third of the QA team was laid off back in December. The firings - coming after a five-week period of overtime and anticipated end-of-year crunch - occurred despite Activision allegedly promising the team it was working on a pay restructure to increase wages.

Now quality assurance testers at Activision Blizzard's Wisconsin-based Raven Software studio have announced their intention to form a worker's union, however, the ABK Workers Alliance collective has announced plans to end the strike "pending the recognition of our union".

"Pending the recognition of our union, the Raven QA strike has ended. Unused strike funds are being stored for future organising/strike efforts," ABK Workers Alliance announced on Twitter earlier today.

"We'll post or retweet any GW[A] updates here. Appreciate all the community support throughout the strike!"

Pending the recognition of our union, the Raven QA strike has ended. Unused strike funds are being stored for future organizing/strike efforts.

We'll post or retweet any GWU updates here. Appreciate all the community support throughout the strike!

Activision Blizzard appeared to downplay the significance of news of unionisation, saying it was "carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organise around three dozen of the company's nearly 10,000 employees".

Earlier this week Microsoft dropped the bombshell news it was purchasing the beleaguered Activision Blizzard for $70BN. In response, the ABK Worker's Alliance called the acquisition "surprising", but said it did not change its goals. "[We] remain committed to fighting for workplace improvements and the rights of our employees regardless of who is financially in control", it insisted in a statement.

Will you support Eurogamer?

We want to make Eurogamer better, and that means better for our readers - not for algorithms. You can help! Become a supporter of Eurogamer and you can view the site completely ad-free, as well as gaining exclusive access to articles, podcasts and conversations that will bring you closer to the team, the stories, and the games we all love. Subscriptions start at £3.99 / $4.99 per month.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7psHRqJ6apZWne6%2Bx02ipmq6Vo3q0u8WtrpqqlWKyr7DSZqqtqpmgsm6twq2gqKZdnrtuuMign61ln5t6trrIqKWiq5GptrC6