The workers at Bethesda Game Studios have joined the Communications Workers of America (CWA), marking themselves as the first Microsoft video game studio to form a wall-to-wall union. A total of 241 workers have either signed an authorization card or indicated their desire to join a union through an online portal. The “wall-to-wall” structure signifies that the CWA will be representing workers across various job descriptions and divisions, including artists, engineers, programmers, and designers. Bethesda, the developer behind Starfield and the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games.
Microsoft has already recognized the union, officially integrating the workers at the studio’s Maryland office into CWA Locals 2108 and those at its Texas office into CWA Locals 6215. “We are so excited to announce our union at Bethesda Game Studio and join the movement sweeping across the video game industry,” said Mandi Parker, Bethesda Senior System Designer. “It’s evident that every worker can benefit from bringing democracy into the workplace and securing a protected voice on the job. We’re thrilled to get down to brass tacks and win a fair contract, proving that our unity is a source of real power to positively shape our working conditions, our lives, and the company as a whole.”
Bethesda’s workers join the expanding ranks of unionized personnel in the video game industry. In January 2023, quality assurance workers at ZeniMax Studios, Bethesda’s parent company, banded together to form what was then the largest union in the industry with 300 members. However, it lost this distinction when 600 quality assurance workers at Activision, also owned by Microsoft, joined the CWA this year.
