Microsoft and Activision has run into a new roadblock on their deal.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the two companies are facing a formal complaint at the National Labor Relations Board. The complaint indicates that the two companies are guilty of “Refusal to Bargain / Bad Faith Bargaining,” and it was filed by the union at longtime Call of Duty studio Raven Software. CWA president Claude Cummings Jr shared this statement on the situation:
“After Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, our members were optimistic that they would progress quickly to a first contract at Raven Software.
Unfortunately, that has not happened. We encourage Microsoft to address the concerns raised in the Unfair Labor Practice charge and make reaching a fair agreement a priority.”
For their part, Microsoft claimed that they “are committed to negotiating in good faith.”
Microsoft signed a labor neutrality agreement with the CWA all the way back in 2022. This arrangement had apparently done so well that the CWA, and their parent organization, the AFL-CIO, spoke out in favor of Microsoft while they faced regulation for their deal to buy Activision.
From our understanding of the situation, the unions came out to support this deal, in spite of any worries about industry consolidation, because they saw Microsoft as a better partner to bargain with compared to Activision’s then leadership. Of course, that included their former CEO, Bobby Kotick.
As things stand, Kotick agreed to leave the company after the deal was closed, and Activision also saw a reshuffling in leadership. Phil Spencer is now the man at the top of Microsoft Gaming, but because of certain provisions in their deal, which was forced upon them by regulators, Microsoft could not just simply incorporate Activision Blizzard King fully as a Microsoft Game Studio.
As a result, Activision Blizzard continues to run independently, with Matt Booty serving to meet Kotick’s role. Matt is president of game content and studios, and answers directly to Phil Spencer. So if there are issues down the line at Activision’s hierarchy in dealing with Raven Software’s union, ultimately it is Matt and Phil who are accountable.
It is of course disappointing that it has come to this, but since bargaining went on in private for the past two years, we aren’t really in a position to judge any of the parties involved. It would certainly be easy to pick a side, but it’s absolutely possible that they have all been negotiating in good faith, and that everything is held up over one or a few provisions that neither party can budge on.
Truthfully, gamers shouldn’t have to even be worrying about this in the first place. With this complaint hitting the news, we hope that Microsoft and Activision do whatever is necessary to get those formal contracts signed up with Raven Software’s union, and everyone involved can move on to the job of making Call of Duty games.
