While US District Judge Jacqueline Corley dismissed the case, she also gave the plaintiffs 20 days to refine their lawsuit and resubmit it, and the group’s lawyer, Joseph Saveri, said that there are plans to officially submit an amended lawsuit with “additional factual detail” that will address the judge’s concerns.

It marks a victory for Microsoft, but their battles are far from over as they still face a hearing over the Federal Trade Commission’s legal complaint, which is currently slated to take place in August of this year.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard originally expected the transaction to be complete by June 30, 2023.

The post California Judge Dismisses Gamers Lawsuit Filed Against Microsoft appeared first on Sudairy.

“Unfortunately, Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak said. “Like many founders, he took the workers’ concerns as a personal attack and held a series of meetings that demoralized and disempowered the group, making a free and fair election impossible.

“As we have seen at Microsoft’s Zenimax studio, there is another path forward, one that empowers workers through a free and fair process, without intimidation or manipulation by the employer. We will continue to advocate alongside workers in the video game industry for better working conditions, higher standards and a union voice.”

Activision Blizzard made the following statement, according to GamesIndustry.biz: “We appreciate that the CWA has unilaterally decided to withdraw its petition in response to employee feedback. As we’ve stated, we welcomed the opportunity for each employee to safely express their preferences through a confidential vote. Our team at Proletariat does extraordinary work every day. They remain focused on working with their teams to continue to make Proletariat a place where all can grow, thrive, and be part of an amazing team and culture.”

“That is totally false. The Proletariat CEO was responding to concerns from employees who felt pressured or intimidated by CWA and wanted more information about what joining a union could mean. He was defending his employees’ right to express their true preferences in a private vote, so they couldn’t be targeted for their perspectives – like he himself is being targeted by the CWA right now.”

The post Proletariat Unionization Vote Request Withdrawn appeared first on Sudairy.

Furthermore, Microsoft says they’re “[not] asking the FTC to ignore competition concern”, according to The Verge.

“As we enter a new year, we remain committed to creating the best workplaces we can for people who make a living in the tech sector,” the beginning of the ad states. “When both labor and management bring their voices to the bargaining table, employees, shareholders and customers alike benefit.”

The ad states that Microsoft’s union formation is “in keeping with new groundbreaking labor neutrality principles that the Communications Workers of America and Microsoft established last year.”

“During 2023, we hope to bring the same agreement and principles to Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft has proposed to acquire,” it continues.

The post Microsoft Launches Pre-Union Advertisement appeared first on Sudairy.

“We aim to be a beloved game studio with a diverse team, doing our best work and creating innovative experiences at the frontier of game development. We are unionizing to protect this mission and to set the studio up for success as we enter Proletariat’s next chapter joining forces with Activision Blizzard King,” the group said.

The also pointed out that Blizzard should follow Microsoft and commit to a labor neutrality agreement as well.

Some of the listed reasons for the unionization efforts:

• A flexible PTO policy, remote work as a permanent option
• Open and transparent communication regarding compensation
• Overtime is never mandatory
• Policies prioritizing DEI at every level of decision making

The post Blizzard’s Proletariat Seeking to Unionize appeared first on Sudairy.

Per the report, women and non-binary individuals make up 26% of its staff. In 2021, women represented 24% of Activision Blizzard (via GamesIndustry.biz).

In 2022, under-represented ethnic groups represented 38% of the publisher, and in 2021 that number was 36%. Additionally, employee ethnicity data represents staff who identify as multi-racial or non-white within the United States only.

While the company said that their goal is to increase roles for women and non-binary staff by 50%, Activision Blizzard hasn’t announced a target for increasing the number of under-represented ethnic groups.

The post Activision Blizzard Representation Data Report for 2022 appeared first on Sudairy.

Furthermore, Activision claims Modern Warfare 2 is the “highest grossing entertainment opening of 2022”, according to the report.

The newest records build on Modern Warfare II’s momentum:

• Modern Warfare II is the highest grossing entertainment opening of 2022.
• Modern Warfare II is the #1 top selling opening in franchise history topping $800 million in sell-through following its first three days of release.
• On November 16, the run continues with the release of Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0.

“Our developers, along with our entire Activision Blizzard team, are the backbone of our unwavering commitment to serve our hundreds of millions of players around the world. I am so proud of the extraordinary efforts from our Call of Duty teams and the records they have achieved with Modern Warfare II. Connecting the world through joy, fun and the thrill of competition is the key to our success. Modern Warfare II has provided this to millions of players faster and with greater satisfaction than ever before,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard.

“The incredible momentum driving Modern Warfare II is a direct reflection of the energy and passion of the Call of Duty community,” said Johanna Faries, General Manager, Call of Duty. “As we look ahead to an unprecedented level of support for Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0’s launch next week, we are motivated to deliver again for the best player community in the world.”

The post Activision Says Modern Warfare 2 Hits Record Sales Numbers appeared first on Sudairy.

Activision Blizzard filed a motion on Wednesday to impound ballots with the NLRB, saying that the count should be postponed until its appeal of a previous NLRB decision in the case can be formally heard.

Their appeal was filed alongside the motion to impound ballots.

Activision Blizzard is arguing that the review should be granted because the decision lacks precedent as “no [NLRB] decision addresses the appropriate scope of a bargaining unit in a video game studio.”

The Raven QA team voted to unionize by a count of 19 to 3.

“We deeply respect our employees’ right to choose whether to be represented by a union and to make an informed decision for themselves in a process where every voice is heard,” a spokesperson for the publisher said.

“Given the significant impact this decision could have for everyone on the Albany-based Diablo team and the tight integration of our operations there, we believe strongly that each of the 107 eligible employees deserves to have their votes counted, not just the 18 quality assurance testers who are important employees but make up a small fraction of the team. We are pursuing an appeal to the NLRB regarding its proposed bargaining unit, because companies as well as union organizers have the right to make their case.”

Communications Workers of America Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens responded to Activision Blizzard’s motion with an official statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz, which stated:

“Sadly, it’s no surprise that a company that has repeatedly tried to silence its employees, including by hiding reports of sexual violence, would want to muzzle workers’ voices once again by trying to stop them from voting in a union election. Workers have concluded that they need to protect themselves from this abusive employer by joining together into a strong union.

“Instead of staying neutral, Activision’s management continues to present the same failing arguments in a desperate attempt to interfere with workers’ legal right to make their own decisions about forming a union and negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. It’s clear the company’s executives feel threatened by workers organizing in New York, Wisconsin and across the country.

“We are confident in the NLRB’s response to these frivolous requests, and we will continue to push for Activision Blizzard employees’ right to organize without delay.”

The post Activision Blizzard Files Motion to Impound Albany Union Vote Ballots appeared first on Sudairy.

“Considering the huge popularity of Call of Duty, it is reasonable to infer that if Activision Blizzard games were no longer available on Sony consoles, PlayStation users could decide to migrate to Xbox, or even a PC, to continue having access to franchise games,” CADE said in an official statement. “On the other hand, it’s also reasonable to assume that if upcoming Call of Duty games became exclusive to the Microsoft ecosystem, players loyal to the PlayStation brand could simply abandon the series, migrating their demand to other games available on their favourite console.”

Brazil is the latest to approve Microsoft’s proposed acquisition and it comes on the heels of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition’s decision back in August that it had “no objections” to the deal.

The post Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Acquisition Approved by Brazilian Regulator appeared first on Sudairy.

Microsoft has a deal in place to buy Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind Call of Duty, for around $69 billion, but the deal has been scrutinized by competitions regulators, including the UKs Competition and Market Authority, with concerns that Microsoft could end up “withholding or degrading” Activision Blizzard works from other consoles or even subscription services.

Ryan spoke out about the offer.

“I hadn’t intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum,” Ryan said, according to Gamesindustry.biz.

“Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”

The post Playstation Calls Xbox’s Call of Duty Offer “inadequate on many levels” appeared first on Sudairy.

According to Albany Game Workers Alliance, which leading the efforts to improve working conditions at the studio, the publisher as re-hired Reed Smith, which is an organization that offers union-avoidance services.

“Instead of following Microsoft’s lead and committing to a labor neutrality agreement, Activision has made the clear and conscious decision to deny us our basic labour rights while once again spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a union-busting firm,” they said on Wednesday. They added that Activision Blizzard has “chosen to delay recognition of our union in a futile effort to disband it,” but the group remains “willing to engage with management productively if ABK leadership will commit to high road labour standards.”

Activision Blizzard has responded.

“Given the significant impact this change could have for roughly 150 people in Albany, we believe every employee in Albany who works on Diablo should have a direct say in this decision,” Spokesman Rich George said in a statement issued to Kotaku. “It should not be made by fewer than 15% of employees.”

Activision Blizzard is facing a lot of issues, and this is just the latest drama at Activision Blizzard.

The post Activision Blizzard Accused of Undermining Efforts to Unionize appeared first on Sudairy.

Petitti will take his new post on August 17th.

Petitti will report to CEO Bobby Kotick and will oversee esports, consumer products, and film and television, according to Activision Blizzard.

The post Tony Petitti Leaves MLB for Activision Blizzard appeared first on Sudairy.