A group Activision Blizzard quality assurance (QA) workers have walked out in protest over the publisher’s return-to-office mandate. That’s according to the Communication Workers of America (CWA), which shared the news in a statement on its website.
On Friday, October 25, the QA team (based in Eden Prairie, MN) rallied to secure work-from-home accomodations. The team has worked on several Call of Duty titles (including the just-released Call of Duty: Black Ops 6), and claim Activision and Microsoft have not permitted accommodations for employees with ADA-certified medical conditions.
It also noted over 300 Activision employees signed a petition earlier this month calling for the return of work-from-home options, and workers in Texas and California joined the Eden Prairie team in staging a protest.
“Despite multiple requests from the Union representing the video-game workers, Activision and Microsoft have been unable to articulate why specifically they are insisting workers must work in the office,” wrote the CWA, “even those with serious medical conditions and doctor’s recommendations to work from home.”
Pro-worker group A Better ABK published a statement of its own on October 25 and claimed RTO “[was] decided on our behalf and without our input.”
“We’ve also learned that the company is unwilling to provide people with remote work accommodations, even when it’s the only option that meets an employee’s needs, due to this alienating policy,” it added.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Activision Blizzard said it understood returning to the office has been an “adjustment” for some employees. “We engage in an interactive process with employees who request accommodations,” it continued. “This is an ongoing conversation at the bargaining table, and we will continue to discuss our respective interests in that forum.”
The divisive history of devs returning to the office
Activision Blizzard ended its years-long hybrid work structure at the start of 2024 when it enacted a full RTO policy that allowed for zero work-from-home days. Prior to that, it ended its remote work policy and called on staff to come back to the office for three days a week. Both moves were met with criticism by employees and the industry at large.
Other big studios, such as Ubisoft and Rockstar, have also called on staff to get back in the office ahead of their respective big, upcoming releases. In Ubisoft’s case, it led to the French game developer union STJV encouraging staff at its France-based offices to protest this decision, and workers at the Milan office to strike alongside them.
Many developers felt remote work agreed with them more, and going back to in-person work has led to other complications. For example, Techland’s RTO policy requires overseas staff to come to its Poland offices eight days out of every two months, and local workers to come in three days out of the week. This went into effect in July, and at the time, it was alleged those two buildings would not be able to hold the near-500 people that make up the Dying Light studio.
The CWA further alleged the QA workers believe Activision Blizzard is using the RTO policy and refusing accommodations as a “layoff wolf in return-to-office sheep’s clothing.” Ubisoft Montreal workers speculated a similar reasoning when they were forcibly given an RTO policy of their own late last year.
In the statement, the CWA noted Activision’s return-to-office mandate was made “despite more than two years of successfully working from home entirely or in hybrid with in-office.” Last year, Insomniac Games and Respawn both advocated for remote and hybrid work and how it helped their respective 2023 releases, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.