Staff from Blizzard's story and franchise development (SDF) team have voted to form a new union. 

The bargaining unit has been formed with the Communications Workers of America and has already been recognised by parent company Microsoft as part of its labour neutrality agreement with the union. 

Around 3,000 staff at the Xbox giant are now unionised. 

“After more than a decade working at Blizzard, I’ve seen all the highs and lows. For years, Blizzard has been a place where people could build their careers and stay for decades, but that stability’s been fading,” Blizzard principal editor and organising committee member Bucky Fisk said. “With a union, we’re able to preserve what makes this place special, secure real transparency in how decisions are made, and make sure policies are applied fairly to everyone.”

Associate producer and another member of the organising committee Sammi Key added: “These past couple of months have felt both important and cathartic given what’s happened to video game workers across the industry. At multiple points in my life, I’ve always been told to accept the way things are, but with organizing, we’re able to build a future better than we found it.”

This comes shortly after staff at Raven Software and ZeniMax secured a contract with Microsoft.