Activision Blizzard acquired Proletariat this year, and now it seeks to unionize

Proletariat, best known for Spellbreak, was bought by Blizzard Entertainment this year, and now seeks to unionize to protect studio culture

The Activision Blizzard saga is a long one, from Bobby Kotick’s alleged misdeeds, to an ousting of Blizzard senior staff, to the Microsoft buyout – but it doesn’t end there, of course.

While anti-trust organizations continue to investigate the Microsoft buyout, a studio that Blizzard Entertainment purchased only this year is now seeking to unionize in order to protect its work culture.

Proletariat is a 57-person studio that has now filed for union representation, as reported by Bloomberg. The studio is best known for the battle royale Spellbreak, and has since assisted on development of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight.

In an email Proletariat software engineer Dustin Yost gave a statement: “Earlier this year, when we heard that Blizzard was planning to acquire Proletariat, we started to discuss how we could protect the great culture we have created here. By forming a union and negotiating a contract, we can make sure that we are able to continue doing our best work and create innovative experiences at the frontier of game development.”

Microsoft has stated that it remains neutral on unionization efforts on the part of game studios. This follows QA workers at ZeniMax Studios starting to organize a union earlier in December 2022.

Proletariat’s move to unionize is notable, as until now only QA workers inside Activision Blizzard have attempted to unionize.