Just days after QA workers at Raven Software voted to unionize, Xbox’s head Phil Spencer announced that he will recognize the new union after the company acquires Activision Blizzard.
According to a report by Kotaku, during an internal meeting today, Spencer said he would “absolutely support” the union.
“Once the deal closes, we would absolutely support [an] employees’ organization that’s in place,” he told employees during the internal meeting, according to Kotaku. “We think it is a right of employees and something that can be a part of a relationship between a company and people who work at the company.”
Previously, Microsoft had announced that it wouldn’t “stand in the way” of unionization, though today marks the first time a Microsoft executive has officially announced their support for the union.
The company’s move to acquire Activision Blizzard is still being investigated and has been muddied by various complaints and protests against Activision Blizzard, including a lawsuit over allegations of “frat boy culture” and unequal pay.
The deal is currently slated to close by the end of Microsoft’s fiscal 2023, which ends in June 2023.
The Raven QA union is the first union at a major studio and was formed on May 23, in spite of company pushback including internal anti-union emails sent by Activision Blizzard that encouraged employees to “Please vote no.”
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
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