"It's a new day at Blizzard": Union wins historic contract protecting 1,900 World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and more workers as Microsoft plans another 1,600 layoffs

For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news. "It's a new day at Blizzard": Union wins historic contract protecting 1,900 World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and more workers as Microsoft plans another 1,600 layoffs "It's a new day at Blizzard, where greater power for workers is translating into more innovative games for players," says CWA president Claude Cummings Jr. "The company has to talk with us before implementing AI tech that affects our working conditions, and we get to negotiate over the impact of that,” senior World of Warcraft designer Paul Cox tells Aftermath "We'll also be regularly discussing AI as part of our labor management committee, which is the sort of meeting between the union and the company on a frequent basis where we can bring up everything from AI to 'Hey, people are complaining that the toilet doors have too large of a gap in them.'" And since Microsoft is cracking its knuckles ahead of another 1,600 layoffs at Xbox, Blizzard union workers also made sure to secure "really strong layoff protections," Cox says.