A group of 450 developers working on Diablo have cast their votes in favor of unionization

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

According to a release by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the group includes a diverse range of roles such as game developers, artists, designers, engineers, and support staff linked to the Diablo series. This new union is noted as one of the largest within a studio owned by Microsoft and follows similar actions by Blizzard’s Story and Franchise Development workers, as well as historic contracts achieved by Microsoft employees at ZeniMax Media and Raven Software.

Diablo's team 3 game producer and organizing committee member, Kelly Yeo, remarked, "With every round of mass layoffs, a growing sense of anxiety arises among my colleagues, as hard work seems insufficient for protection."

Yeo expressed excitement over the union's formation, considering it a crucial step in a broader industry movement to instigate substantial change along with fellow Diablo staff.

Ron Swaggerty, President of CWA Local 6215, stated: "We are pleased to welcome these game workers into the union community in Austin. Every new organizing effort contributes to the national drive for greater empowerment among video game workers.

He further added that this achievement is due to the perseverance and vocal advocacy of workers over recent years.

Earlier, this month Blizzard's story and franchise development division also chose to unionize, joining nearly 3,000 unionized employees at Microsoft-affiliated studios under CWA.

In August of last year, unionized employees at Raven Software in Wisconsin lodged a complaint against the studio and its parent companies, Activision and Microsoft, over alleged negotiation refusal. Recently, Raven’s workforce secured a landmark contract with Microsoft.