A total of 450 employees working on the Diablo series have cast their votes in favor of forming a union

Blizzard's Diablo series team, comprising 450 developers, has opted to unionize.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced that the group, which is made up of game developers, artists, designers, engineers, and support staff for the Diablo franchise, represents one of the largest unions at a studio under Microsoft's ownership. This move builds on unionization drives seen within Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development teams and historic agreements achieved by Microsoft workers at ZeniMax Media and Raven Software.

"With each wave of mass layoffs, my colleagues and I have felt increasing anxiety, as if our efforts were never sufficient to ensure job security," expressed Kelly Yeo, a game producer on the Diablo team and a member of the organizing committee.

“I'm thrilled that we've successfully organized a union — it marks the beginning of our involvement in a movement sweeping through an industry that's weary of constant fear. We're eager to work towards meaningful changes alongside our fellow Diablo team members.”

Ron Swaggerty, President of CWA Local 6215, remarked, "We are delighted to include these game workers into Austin’s union community. Each new union effort contributes to the growing national movement for empowering video game workers.

"This achievement is due to the resilience and courage of workers who've been boldly speaking up for the past several years."

Recently, those involved with Blizzard's story and franchise development division also chose to unionize, joining nearly 3,000 employees at Microsoft-owned studios who have organized with the CWA.

In August last year, union members at Raven Software, based in Wisconsin, filed a complaint against the studio and its parent companies, Activision and Microsoft, claiming a refusal to negotiate. Raven's workers have since secured a significant contract with Microsoft.