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Unionised quality assurance testers at ZeniMax have announced that they’ve reached a deal with Microsoft after two years of negotiations. It follows a recent trend of more coherence amongst video game workers to demand greater pay and rights.
A new deal has been reached between unionised quality assurance testers at ZeniMax and Microsoft, following two years of negotiations.
ZeniMax is a video game publisher and holding company, perhaps best known as the parent organisation for Bethesda.
Microsoft first bought ZeniMax in 2021 for a record-breaking $7.5 billion USD, giving the tech giant control of a huge range of franchises, including Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, and more.
Quality assurance testers over at ZeniMax had been in conversations with Microsoft for two years, and the new deal will be the first union contract in the US.
As reported by Bloomberg, the contract sets out a company-wide 13.5% pay rise as of July, with additional details on the use of AI as per an agreement that was made at the end of 2023.
In a statement, union member Page Branson said this was a ‘monumental victory for all current video game workers and those that come after.’
The video game industry has been in a rough position over the past few years, with mass layoffs constantly being announced from major studios and publishers every few months.
AI is also in hot water as it is used for advertisements, asset design, and voice acting, putting human jobs at risk.
One such example recently was the use of a Darth Vader AI voice model in Fortnite, which we reported on a few weeks ago.
With increasing uncertainty affecting the job market, more developers are unionising to ensure they’re protected.
