Workers at the Activision QA union have voted to authorize a strike. News comes today from Aftermath, who are reporting that after two years of bargaining, members remain without a contract. 

Following the merger of Activision Blizzard with Microsoft in 2024, other studio workers at places like Blizzard and Zenimax have since secured their contracts. For those at Activision QA, this sticking point has only pushed them further towards going on strike. 

Activision QA workers have started rallying outside of company offices, but a full on strike would cause plenty of issues for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 - set to launch on October 23.

It's worth noting that the game will also have a short early access period, and this is where folks at Activision QA feel like it's a prime opportunity to highlight just how important that role is on the development team.

“We want players to know that this game has been built against the backdrop of these negotiations,” said QA tester Jenna Huffman, who has also been involved in the bargaining process.

"This is our busiest time of the year, especially post-release, because that's when players really get their hands on it. And not only do we see the issues we've been seeing in the game, but players will discover things that nobody's seen before that we need to handle."

To that end, if Activision keeps stringing them along, it gives the team even less time for testing. Things like bugs, server issues, and missing features could very well spring up which would obviously impact player satisfaction and retention. 

Activision responded and claimed that they've been working in good faith, telling Aftermath, "Our goal is a fair first contract that supports our QA team members and the long-term success of the business. We remain committed to open dialogue with the union and have offered to meet again on October 21 and 22. We respect our employees' right to engage in protected activity, including the right to strike. We have plans in place to ensure there is no disruption to players or upcoming game releases."