Microsoft has agreed to hire the 77 temporary game testers it recently created Quality Assurance Union at ZeniMax Studios. In a groundbreaking moment for the industry’s growing labor movement, 23 of the workers will become full-time employees, while all will receive raises and free copies Starfieldthe open-world role-playing game They helped with debugging, but otherwise wouldn’t have received it.
“The use of contractors is widespread in the video game industry, and they often earn lower wages, have fewer benefits, and have less job stability than the direct employees they work with,” the Communications Workers of America wrote in a statement informed My city
Contract for the personnel agency TCWGlobal accordingly Bloombergthe 77th Starfield Testers are now Part of ZeniMax Workers United-CWA which is currently negotiating its first contract with the tech giant. The 23 full-time employees will receive a 22.2 percent wage increase, while the remainder will receive a 15.3 percent wage increase, from $18 an hour to $20.75 an hour. Some who were previously ineligible will now receive paid vacation and paid sick days, while all 77 will finally receive copies of the Bethesda blockbuster they helped create.
“Every employee also receives a free copy Starfield, the main game release they had been working on,” the CWA wrote. “This has not been common practice for contractors before.”
Read more: Xbox Promise Starfield Will be Bethesda’s least buggy launch ever
It is a testament to how poor working conditions are for temporary test workers that such a simple benefit was not guaranteed before the union was formed. Their addition to the union could also pave the way for union organizing efforts elsewhere in an industry that relies on legions of permanent employees who lack the same pay, benefits and job security as their full-time colleagues. Notable examples include Nintendo of America, where many quality assurance employees are treated like seasonal workers
Microsoft’s landmark labor neutrality agreement The CWA has quickly become one of the most welcoming gaming companies to developer unions. Time will tell if this has a domino effect on other studios and publishers. Sega of America was recently accused of retaliating against about 200 unionized employees threaten to move half of their jobs abroad.
