Bethesda Game Studios is known for creating some of the greatest open-world RPGs in gaming history, like Fallout 3 and Skyrim. It will now also be known for being the first major American studio to unionize its entire team.
On July 19, owner Microsoft recognized a union representing 241 employees at Bethesda, the maker of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises and last year’s massive sci-fi adventure Starfield. The group, which will be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), includes artists, designers, programmers, and engineers across the roughly 450-person studio. The news comes as Bethesda prepares to ship its Shattered Space expansion for Starfield and Fallout experiences a major resurgence in popularity thanks to its Amazon Prime adaptation.
Unlike recent unionization efforts at Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and beyond, which focused primarily on quality assurance testers, this “wall-to-wall” union represents workers across all disciplines and departments needed to make the blockbuster hits Bethesda is known for. In this respect, it’s similar to Sega of America’s union, which represents staff across the organization’s marketing, localization, and community management teams.
“We are thrilled to announce the formation of a union at Bethesda Game Studio and join the movement that is spreading across the video game industry,” said Mandi Parker, senior systems designer at Bethesda, in a statement. “It’s clear that every worker can benefit from bringing democracy to the workplace and ensuring that their voice is protected on the job.”
The process has moved so quickly and smoothly thanks to a neutrality agreement between Microsoft and the CWA, which promises not to oppose unionization efforts or require formal elections. Instead, employees across the company can form a union simply by showing majority support for one through a card check or by visiting an online portal. The tech giant reached the deal as part of an effort to complete its massive $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year.
For years, unionization efforts have been growing in the video game industry, with workers pushing back against a culture of long overtime hours and frequent mass layoffs. The movement is set to gain even more momentum with major players like Bethesda joining in. Unionized workers at the company will now begin negotiating their first contract. So far, only Sega of America’s union has ratified a collective bargaining agreement at a major video game company.