Modern Warfare 4 Testers Vote to Authorize Union Strike as Contract Talks Stall: “Time to Stop the Games”

The union has spent more than two years trying to negotiate its first contract

The union has been trying to negotiate its first contract for more than two years

Activision took on Microsoft's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4

Nearly 600 quality assurance testers at Activision, many of whom work in its Minnesota office, formed a union in March 2024. More than two years later, the group, which includes testers preparing Modern Warfare 4 for its big release on October 16, has yet to secure its first collective bargaining agreement. Activision developers are accusing the Microsoft-owned publisher of not living up to the "positive labor-management relationship" that had been touted under an expired nondisclosure agreement since the union was first formed. They have now voted to authorize a strike if there is no change.

AQAU-CWA Bargaining Committee Member and QA Performance Tester Emily Danko said in a press release: "Bargaining has been a long and arduous process that has spanned more than two years, with our committee as the company continues to stall on important issues such as wages, housing and worker protections." Despite our efforts to bargain in good faith, meaningful progress has been difficult and key issues remain unresolved. Our members remain united and continue to mobilize, but we are exploring all options available to secure the fair contract we deserve.

Call of Duty developers Activision has accused the publisher of failing to "deal in good faith" on issues such as pay raises, guardrails for artificial intelligence, and the company's use of contractors. Voting to authorize a strike does not mean that it will happen, but rather that the union representing the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has cleared the final hurdle before it can call a strike anytime soon.

"Activivision is working in good faith with CWA for the core QA team, and we've made significant progress on a number of issues," a company spokesperson wrote in an email to Kotaku. "Our goal is a fair first contract that supports our QA team members and the long-term success of the business. We remain committed to open dialogue with the union and have offered to meet again on October 21st and 22nd. We respect the right of our employees to engage in protected activity, including the right to strike. We have plans in place to ensure there is no disruption to player releases or future play."

While Modern Warfare 4 releases globally next week, modern blockbusters always require major post-launch patches to fix many of the issues players find during the initial release period. A strike can have a huge impact on the live game service experience during the important holiday sales period.

"Our offices work on MW4 every day to make sure the game runs as well as possible," QA performance tester Jenna Hoffman told Kotaku in an email. To continue this work, our workers expect the fair pay, fair treatment and fair contract that we have spent more than two years working towards.

"We are forced to go to work every day without fair facilities and continue to face the constant threat of mass redundancies without meaningful protections," he added. We have repeatedly asked the company to meet us at the table to solve these problems, and we have seen nothing but delays and unrealistic confrontations.

While Microsoft has promised more layoffs in the coming months as part of an ongoing Xbox reset, the QA group has seen its ranks drop by nearly a third in the years since the first union, with the unit jeopardizing just over 400 units compared to nearly 600 when it started in early 2024. When the workforce shrinks but the work continues, it raises legal questions about how to redistribute work, how to shift workloads, and whether remaining employees are being asked to do more with less. "We must not sacrifice workload or sustainable quality to compensate for staff reductions."

One of the key issues is how to implement AI across Activision, and specifically in its testing divisions. QA is one of the disciplines that is often touted as being able to be automated through genAI tools. "QA is more than just checking boxes," Danko continued. This requires human judgment, contextual understanding and the ability to detect problems that automated systems may miss.”

To grease the wheels of Activision Blizzard's massive acquisition, Microsoft struck a temporary labor neutrality agreement with the CWA that set the government up for union busting in the company's games division. But that deal expired last fall, and Activision testers say the mood has changed as a result. "Since the contract expired, the company has been significantly bolder in its efforts to push the boundaries of the status quo, while further slowing the pace of negotiations on the table," Hoffman said.

When the Activision Testers Alliance was first formed, Amy Panoni, vice president of general counsel at Microsoft, said she looked forward to "continuing our positive work-management relationship." Two years later, they say the feelings are unrecognizable. It is difficult to reconcile this statement with our current bargaining experience. A positive labor-management relationship requires more than words of support. It requires meaningful engagement, good faith negotiations, and a willingness to work toward a solution." "After nearly two years, we need to see that commitment reflected in the company's actions on the table, not just in public statements," Danko said.

Activision's chief marketing officer says Modern Warfare 4 will face a "duty tax."

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