First-party Xbox studio Double Fine, the team behind Brutal Legend, Psychonauts, and, more recently, Kiln, founded by Tim Schafer in 2005 and acquired by Microsoft in 2019, is unionizing.
As reported by Aftermath, the studio filed a petition on May 7 in concert with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and if recognized by Xbox, this petition will allow the team to form a union that will comprise all 42 "regular part-time and full-time employees."
"Double Fine Productions announced their decision to form a union with CWA to preserve and extend the studio's commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life," a CWA representative said. "In tandem with requesting voluntary recognition from the company, workers have also filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to secure union representation. We appreciate that Microsoft has taken a neutral approach and agreed not to interfere in any way with worker's rights to organize unions."
While unionizing won't prevent layoffs, if a contract is ratified with parent company Microsoft, it could ensure better severance pay while also protecting employees from AI outsourcing. However, as this petition has only just been filed, it's unclear...
