More than 300 Zenimax Media QA workers at ZeniMax Media—part of Microsoft—have reached a tentative contract deal with the company. The agreement, put together with help from ZeniMax Workers United-CWA, marks an important milestone for labor rights in the video game industry. It paves the way for better pay, stronger job security, and improved workplace protections for quality assurance employees in the gaming industry.
According to Bloomberg, the agreement features a 13.5% salary increase, set to take effect on July 1, 2025, along with updated minimum wage standards.
Page Branson, a Senior II QA Tester and bargaining committee member for ZeniMax Workers United-CWA, emphasized that QA workers nationwide are at the forefront of driving industry-wide change. Branson acknowledged the challenge of standing up to a major corporation like Microsoft, calling the agreement a historic win for both current and future video game professionals. “QA workers from across the country continue to lead the charge for industry-wide change. Going toe-to-toe with one of the largest corporations in the world isn’t a small feat. This is a monumental victory for all current video game workers and for those that come after.”
The union said that the agreement, which was reached after two years of talks, increases minimum worker wages and includes additional wage increases. It establishes a new credit policy that the union claims will recognize the contributions that QA testers make to the games they support, establish grievance procedures, and “include protections against arbitrary dismissal.”
In addition, it codifies an agreement made between the union and the studio in 2023, which mandates that the employer give prior notice of any uses of artificial intelligence that may have an impact on union members and that the employer negotiate those impacts at the labor group’s request. The agreement also outlined certain “guiding principles” for the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
The ZeniMax employees were the first at Microsoft to try to form a union when they went public in 2022. The game developer agreed to voluntarily recognize the CWA if enough workers indicated their support for joining as part of a labor neutrality deal that Microsoft made with the CWA earlier that year.
“Taking on one of the largest tech companies in the world and winning real gains on improving the workplace is no small feat,” CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase stated. “No matter how complex or powerful the employer may seem, collective action works. These workers have earned this victory and are opening the door for future worker-organizers.”
[Sources]: Communications Workers of America: Video Game Workers Reach Historic Tentative Contract Agreement with Microsoft – [Archives: 1; 2] – [Screenshots: 1; 2]. Bloomberg: Microsoft Reaches an Agreement for First US Union Contract – [Archives: 1; 2] – [Screenshots: 1; 2].
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