The Elder Scrolls Online Developers Have Unionized

Following in the footsteps of earlier union action by Bethesda workers and ZeniMax QA workers, 461 developers at ZeniMax Online Studios have launched their union. The union has been recognized by parent company Microsoft, which acquired ZeniMax and it subsidiaries in 2021.

The union is called ZOS United-CWA, and like the previous unionization efforts within ZeniMax Media, has been formed with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The new union consists of web developers, designers, engineers, and graphic artists, with an announcement on Bluesky identifying union members as “a majority of video game workers at ZeniMax Online Studios and the workers behind ESO.”

“We are thrilled to be joining thousands of other tech and video game workers in building solidarity across the industry with CODE-CWA,” the new union said in an announcement on Bluesky, tagging the CWA’s campaign for unionization within the tech, gaming, and digital industries. “With a union, we are looking forward to collectively pushing for improvements to the workplace, including job security, protections against AI, better pay and benefits–in an industry that we’re so deeply passionate about.”

In June this year, Microsoft signed a labor-neutrality agreement with the CWA, agreeing not to interfere with any unionization efforts within ZeniMax Media, and making it easier for workers within ZeniMax to unionize. Shortly after, Bethesda workers announced the formation of their own union, making it the first Microsoft game studio to be unionized across the board. Prior to that, QA workers across ZeniMax studios and Bethesda formed the largest certified video game union in the US in January 2023.