Workers for Xbox studio Double Fine are forming a union
Source: Engadget
Union formation at Double Fine
Double Fine, the first‑party Xbox game developer behind Psychonauts, is forming a union. As reported by Aftermath, the studio filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 7 to organize a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) that would cover all 42 regular part‑time and full‑time employees.
The CWA said the studio decided to organize to “preserve and extend [its] commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life.” Workers are asking Microsoft for voluntary recognition in addition to filing an election petition with the NLRB to secure union representation. “We appreciate that Microsoft has taken a neutral approach and agreed not to interfere in any way with workers’ rights to organize unions,” the union added.
Context: other Microsoft‑owned studios
The Double Fine effort follows several recent unionization moves at other Microsoft‑owned developer groups:
- More than 500 World of Warcraft workers at Blizzard formed a union with the CWA in 2024 (Engadget).
- The Overwatch team created a “wall‑to‑wall” union with nearly 200 developers about a year later (Engadget).
- Quality‑assurance employees at ZeniMax Studios, known for The Elder Scrolls Online, ratified their union agreement with Microsoft last year (Engadget).
- In August 2025, more than 450 Diablo developers at Blizzard voted to unionize with the CWA (Engadget).
Double Fine’s recent titles
Since becoming part of Microsoft in 2019, Double Fine has released several games under Xbox Game Studios: