Proletariat Studio, a Blizzard Subsidiary, Moves to Form a Union

Employees at Blizzard Entertainment's Proletariat studio have publicly declared their intention to form a union. A group of 57 staff members has established the Proletariat Workers Alliance to pursue this goal. The announcement was made via Twitter, where the alliance expressed its mission: "To be a cherished game studio with a diverse team, delivering our best work and crafting innovative experiences at the forefront of game development. We are unionizing to safeguard this mission and ensure the studio's success as we embark on Proletariat's next chapter in collaboration with Activision Blizzard King." Key reasons for unionization include: implementing a flexible paid time off policy, making remote work a permanent option, ensuring open and transparent communication about compensation, making overtime voluntary, and prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision-making processes. The alliance has called on leadership to follow Microsoft's lead and commit to a labor neutrality agreement. This unionization effort comes six months after Proletariat was acquired by Blizzard to work on World of Warcraft, making it the third division within Activision Blizzard to pursue unionization. This move follows the precedent set by Raven Software's QA group, which became the first major video game union in the US in May, and Blizzard Albany's QA team, which voted in favor of unionizing earlier this month.