Employees at Bethesda Game Studios, the Microsoft-owned game developer behind the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, are joining the Communication Workers of America.
Quality assurance testers at Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax, formed a union last year, becoming Microsoft’s first official union in the U.S. In a statement, the CWA called Bethesda’s new union “the first wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft game studio,” as it spans development teams and job titles, including artists, engineers, programmers, and designers.
The CWA said the union would represent a total of 241 workers who signed union cards or indicated their intention to join through an online portal. It also said Microsoft had recognized the union (a voluntary step that avoids an election and precedes actual contract negotiations).
A Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat that the company supports “employees’ right to choose how they express themselves in the workplace” and “will negotiate in good faith with the CWA.” (TechCrunch has also reached out to Microsoft for comment.)
“We are thrilled to announce our union at Bethesda Game Studios and join a growing movement across the video game industry,” Mandy Parker, Bethesda’s chief systems architect, said in a statement. “It’s clear that all workers can benefit from bringing democracy to the workplace and ensuring a protected voice in the workplace.”
