Developers at Microsoft-owned Doom studio id Software form union with CWA “to take back control of the industry we love”

Employees at Doom studio id Software have voted in favour of union representation with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which has been recognised by Microsoft.

The decision follows QA workers becoming the first group at Microsoft to form a union with CWA representation back in 2023. It means id Software is now a wall-to-wall union, including developers, artists, programmers, and more.

“The wall-to-wall organising effort at id Software was much needed; it’s incredibly important that developers across the industry unite to push back on all the unilateral workplace changes that are being handed down from industry executives,” said CWA Local 6215 organising committee member and id Software producer Andrew Willis.

“The union is a way for us, the developers, to take back control of the industry we love and to ensure that it delivers high-quality products from high-quality workers who have health benefits and longevity beyond quarterly profits.”

With this representation, it means there are now almost 4000 union-represented workers at Microsoft altogether.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this effort to organise our studio, to have a voice in decisions that directly affect myself and my coworkers,” said CWA Local 6215 organising committee member and id Software senior VFX artist Caroline Pierrot.

“In an industry that has proven to be very unstable over the last few years, more unions means more power to the workers and a real shot at shaping the future of the industry for the better.”

In addition, members of the United Videogame Workers CWA union held a demonstration outside The Game Awards ceremony last night in acknowledgement of cancelled video games, studio closures, and layoffs.

The United Videogame Workers was launched earlier this year by the CWA as an industry-wide union of video game workers in North America and Canada.

Back in May, the CWA negotiated a new contract with ZeniMax Media staff at Microsoft that set “new standards for the industry”.