Raven Software reaches union contract agreement with Microsoft

It’s been over three years since the GWA-CWA union was formed at Activision Blizzard, a moment of history not only for the company, but the video games industry. After years of bargaining with studio leadership and owner Microsoft, Raven Software has a deal in place for a union contract.

The CWA (Communication Workers of America), which helped Raven employees form the GWA-CWA back in 2022, announced the union deal in a news release today. “The contract builds on the recent organizing momentum by Microsoft video game workers organizing with CWA to raise standards across the video game industry,” the organization wrote.

Key terms of the deal were listed in bullet points:

• A guaranteed 10-percent wage increase over two years with additional raises through merit and promotions, after going 18 months without wage increases and 45 months without promotions;
• The elimination of crunch time, with seven days’ notice required for mandatory overtime, no excessive overtime on back-to-back weeks, flexible scheduling of overtime, and no mandatory overtime of any duration for the majority of weeks in a quarter;
• Bridging of time worked as a temporary or contract employee, defined job descriptions and a fair promotions process, expanded disability accommodations, and layoff protections including severance, recall rights, generous COBRA subsidies, and career transition services.

It’s a monumental moment for workers at Raven Software, who unanimously voted to ratify the contract. This deal follows ZeniMax Workers United-CWA, another union formed under Microsoft, reaching an agreement for a deal back in June.