On December 5, 2021, Activision Blizzard laid off “at least a dozen” quality assurance contractors from the Call of Duty studio Raven Software. The team was shocked by these developments, given that many of the QA testers on the team were now out of a job after being promised increased wages and even being asked to relocate to Wisconsin.
Since Activision Blizzard notified these Raven Software QA contractors that they would be laid off, many actions have been taken by both employees and leadership, including the staging of a walkout and strike, the formation of Activision Blizzard’s first union in the Game Workers Alliance, and much more.
It can be tough to keep track of everything that has happened so far, so we’ve created this timeline of events - much like the one we created for Activision Blizzard as a whole following its lawsuit - that will help you understand the full Raven Software QA unionization story, and we will continue to update this page as further developments occur.
You can see the entire timeline below, or in the following slideshow:
December 5, 2021 - Activision Blizzard Lays Off 'At Least a Dozen' Raven Software Quality Assurance Contractors
Activision Blizzard laid off “at least a dozen” quality assurance contractors from the Call of Duty studio Raven Software as part of a restructuring effort at the studio. At the time, there was a ton of uncertainty as current employees told The Washington Post that even more contractors “will be informed over the next few days if they have been laid off too.”
Raven Software, which worked with Infinity Ward on Call of Duty: Warzone and developed Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War alongside Treyarch, was said to be meeting with these contractors between December 3-8 to “tell them if they are being promoted or terminated on January 28.”
Austin O’Brien, Raven Software’s associate community manager, shared his thoughts on the situation and said that his “friends in QA at Raven were promised, for months, that Activision was working towards a pay restructure to increase their wages." Furthermore, O’Brien said “these people were asked to relocate to Madison, WI to work here. Now they are out of a job on January 28th."
December 6-8, 2021 - Raven Software Walkout Over Recent Layoffs Gains Support From Blizzard and Other Activision Employees
On December 6, members of the Raven Software QA team announced that they would be holding a walkout to protest the layoffs of over a dozen of the studio's contractors. The walkout quickly gained the support of the wider Activision Blizzard companies, with employees from Texas, Minnesota, and California holding their own walkouts in solidarity.
As the walkouts were being planned and held, Activision Blizzard leadership pushed back on the term layoffs and instead explained that the company had chosen not to extend the contracts of “20 temporary workers.” Raven’s QA team said that was unacceptable given that Activision Blizzard had not only announced plans to turn 500 temporary employees into full-time employees, but that these impacted contractors had been terminated “in good standing” and were not let go due to bad performance.
This was the third Activision Blizzard walkout of the year and followed one in July following the initial lawsuit from the state of California. The second walkout occurred after WSJ reported that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of the sexual harassment and assault allegations at the company.
January 3, 2022 - Raven QA Members Send a Letter to Leadership Asking for a Response After Three Weeks of Silence
Members of the Raven QA team sent a letter after the group said the studio’s leadership failed to respond to the team’s “singular demand: All members of the Raven QA department must be offered full time positions, including those who were let go.”
“Today, Monday January 3rd, is the start of the third work week in which employees are striking in solidarity with 12 members of QA whose contracts were terminated,” the letter reads. “We have not had any communication from leadership about our singular demand: All members of the Raven QA department must be offered full time positions, including those who were let go.
“We have emphasized that our demonstration is done with the best interests of the studio (and all projects on which the studio works) in mind. The downsizing of the Raven QA department without input from anyone within the department is concerning to us and others throughout the company. In the interest of making positive change for Raven, we would like to reach out to leadership to discuss the current situation.”
January 6, 2022 - Activision Blizzard Strike Fund Passes $350,000 as Management Finally Replies
Activision Blizzard finally responded to the ongoing Raven Software situation as the ABK Workers Alliance Strike Fund confirmed it had raised over $350,000 in support of the movement.
In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Activision Blizzard said that management at Raven Software had been listening to employees in order to listen to their concerns. "Activision is deeply committed to the wellbeing of all of our teams, including our QA workforce," the statement read.
“Raven leadership has engaged in dialogue with its staff to hear concerns and explain the company's overall investment in development resources,” the statement said. “As previously announced, we are growing our overall investment in development and operations resources and converting nearly 500 temporary workers to full-time employees across our studios, the largest conversion in Activision's history.
"For the 12 temporary workers at Raven whose agreements were not extended, we provided an extended notice period, included payment for the two-week holiday break, and will be working directly with those that need relocation assistance. Raven is full of people dedicated to improving the culture at Activision, and we look forward to partnering with employees to do that work together."
As for the ABK Workers Alliance Strike Fund, the money raised will be used to support the wages for striking coworkers and to assist with relocation costs for any Raven QA who the group believes has had to move unassisted “at the behest of A/B/K.”
January 18, 2022 - Microsoft Announces Deal to Buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion
On January 18, Microsoft announced a landmark deal to purchase Activision Blizzard for a reported $68.7 billion. Assuming no legal issues prevent the deal from being completed, the Xbox brand will soon have access to such IP and games as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and so much more.
While nothing was said directly about Raven Software, this deal will undoubtedly have an impact on the employees of the company in the coming years. The deal is said to close “sometime in Microsoft’s fiscal 2023 year ending June 30, 2023,” meaning the companies will remain independent of each other until then.
In a letter to Microsoft employees, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer shared a few words about the company’s intent to continue to create inclusive environments for all of its studios.
“Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players," Spencer wrote. “We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard."