The Call of Duty Black Ops 6 developers union has accused Activision Blizzard and Microsoft of “negotiating in bad faith.”

Unionized workers at Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 studio Raven Software have filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against parent companies Activision Blizzard and Microsoft, Game File (paywall) reports and Game Developer reports. The complaint, Game Developer writes, refers to “bad faith bargaining” and “concerted activities” – which include “retaliation, firing, [and] Discipline.”

Raven Software's QA workers formed the union at the FPS studio in 2022 under the name Game Workers Alliance (GWA) with the help of the Communication Workers Of America (CWA) after several layoffs. Even then, the workers claimed they faced interference and resistance from management seeking to “undermine” their efforts. It was a pretty complex back-and-forth involving a restriction on voting rights – I recommend reading the report linked above to get the full story.

According to Game Developer, “the initial optimism that followed the studio's union initiative has since evaporated,” as attempts to negotiate a collective agreement resulted in further delaying tactics from higher-ups.

“Following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, our members were optimistic that they would quickly secure an initial contract at Raven Software,” CWA President Claude Cummings told Game File. “Unfortunately, that did not happen. We encourage Microsoft to address the concerns raised in the unfair labor practice lawsuit and make a fair settlement a priority.”

Microsoft told Game File that it remains “committed to negotiating in good faith,” although the same report notes that Raven workers “have yet to make meaningful progress” despite several attempts to negotiate since the union was formed in 2022.

Yesterday we learned that 44 of 95 workers at Greedfall 2 studio Spiders signed an open letter to their employers, listing several complaints, including unsatisfactory working conditions, lack of gender equality and equity, and “global mismanagement.” The workers have called for a strike starting next week. In response, Spiders management called the open letter “false and even defamatory accusations” that “in no way reflect the reality of the company's employees' daily work.”

Last month, employees at both Bethesda Game Studios and World of Warcraft formed nationwide unions with the help of the CWA.