Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided in favor of the Raven Software QA workers attempting to unionize since Jan. 21 of this year. Raven Software’s owner, Activision Blizzard, argued all 200+ of Raven Software’s employees should be able to vote due to the union having an effect on everyone, and the QA employees argued solely the 21 QA contractors should be allowed to vote for a QA contractor union. In the decision, NLRB rejected Activision Blizzard’s attempt to include all of Raven Software, stating the group of the QA workers is sufficient enough to have bargaining rights. The Raven Software QA workers will be mailed their union ballots on April 29, and their votes will be counted on May 23. Should the Raven Software QA employees have a supermajority of those in favor of creating a union, Game Workers Alliance, the new union would immediately begin contract negotiations with Activision Blizzard.

For months now, Activision Blizzard has been continuously fighting this unionization push. Not only has Activision Blizzard refused to voluntarily recognize the union, but also have been accused of union-busting. Furthermore, Activision Blizzard also converted all QA workers into full-time employees, minus Raven Software, most likely to prevent other QA worker unions from forming across other Activision Blizzard studios. Now, Activision Blizzard intends to pursue more options to prevent Game Workers Alliance from forming, like a potential appeal to the NLRB. Activision Blizzard told Polygon:

While we respect the NLRB process, we are disappointed that a decision that could significantly impact the future of our entire studio will be made by fewer than 10% of our employees. We believe a direct relationship with team members is the best path to achieving individual and company goals. We are reviewing legal options regarding a potential appeal.

On Twitter, Game Workers Alliance tweeted, “We are so proud to announce that the NLRB ruled that our unit is eligible for election! Thank you to everyone supporting our campaign since our initial strike up until this very moment! Time for democracy!”

We are so proud to announce that the NLRB ruled that our unit is eligible for election! Thank you to everyone supporting our campaign since our initial strike up until this very moment! Time for democracy!💙 #WeAreRaven #WeAreGWA

— Game Workers Alliance 💙#WeAreGWA (@WeAreGWA) April 22, 2022