Blizzard’s Story and Franchise Development Team Forms Union Amid Industry Layoffs

Diablo 4 (Credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard Entertainment’s Story and Franchise Development (SFD) team has officially unionized.

The team, which handles cinematics, animation, and narrative content for Blizzard’s biggest franchises, voted in favor of joining the Communication Workers of America (CWA), becoming the first in-house cinematic, animation, and narrative studio to form a union in the U.S.

The decision was confirmed on Tuesday through a press release from the CWA. Over 160 workers will now be represented by CWA Local 9510 in Orange County, California, with Microsoft recognizing the union without dispute.

This group is responsible for crafting cinematic trailers, in-game cutscenes, promotional videos, and archiving story materials for blockbuster titles like Diablo 4, a role that has long been central to Blizzard’s brand identity.

Bucky Fisk, a principal editor at Blizzard and member of the organizing committee, explained the motivation behind the move: "For years, Blizzard has been a place where people could build their careers and stay for decades, but that stability’s been fading. With a union, we’re able to preserve what makes this place special, secure real transparency in how decisions are made, and make sure policies are applied fairly to everyone."

The SFD team now joins a growing list of Microsoft-owned studios with organized labor representation. According to CWA statements, nearly 3,000 Microsoft gaming employees are now unionized, including the Overwatch 2 development team, World of Warcraft developers, and workers at Bethesda Game Studios and ZeniMax Online Studios. Quality assurance testers at ZeniMax were the first to unionize under Microsoft in 2023. Most recently, QA workers at Call of Duty developer Raven Software also unionized.

The push for unionization comes during a challenging time for the industry. Just a month ago, Microsoft implemented layoffs across multiple Xbox divisions, including King and ZeniMax Media, while canceling several projects. These cuts have intensified worker concerns over job stability.

Cinematic producer John Giarratana, also part of the organizing committee, shared his perspective: "People at our studio love working here, and I think that organizing gives us an opportunity to make our workplace better and safer."

While unionizing won’t eliminate the risk of layoffs, CWA leaders argue it gives workers more leverage in securing fair policies and protecting creative teams from instability.