Call Of Duty Staff Strike Enters Its Third Week
With every passing week, the gaming industry becomes less and less like the nerdy utopia we'd hoped it'd be with our gaming development dreams when darting through Super Mario 64.
The industry seems very much like every other business now, and a lot of the companies behind the biggest titles clearly have some work to do, with some showing that the working conditions for their staff are far worse than anyone had come to foresee.
A number of staff members are standing up and saying "enough", though - and now, as Raven Software staff continue their strike, they're starting to see some results.
What's Going On With The Raven Software Strike?
The strike set in place by Call of Duty Warzone's developer Raven Software's staff has now entered its third week of operation, continuing to protest against a series of surprise layoffs inside the company. The developer is accused of letting staff go in a deeply unethical and unfair manner.
At the start of this week, the A Better ABK Worker's Alliance Twitter account shared a statement asserting that they had entered their third week of striking, and that at the time, they hadn't had any correspondence from Raven Software regarding their demands.
"Today, Monday January 3rd, is the start of the third work week in which employees are striking in solidarity with 12 members of QA whose contracts were terminated", reads the statement.
"We have not had any communication from leadership about our singular demand: all members of the Raven QA department must be offered full time positions, including those who were let go."
It's incredibly alarming that the strike went so far without any correspondence from the necessary teams - but according to Activision, that contact has now been made.
Activision Says Raven Are Now Talking To Striking Staff
Click to enlargeAn Activision spokesperson has stated in an update to gamesindustry.biz that Raven Software has finally reached out to striking staff to discuss their demands.
"Activision is deeply committed to the wellbeing of all our teams", it reads. "Raven's leadership as engaged in dialogue with its staff to hear concerns and explain the company's overall investment in development resources. [...]
"For the 12 temporary workers at Raven whose agreements were not extended, we provided an extended notice period, included payment for the two-week holiday break, and will be working directly with those that need relocation assistance."
It's a shame that it took so long to reach this stage, but at least some communication is happening - and we're hoping that a deal can be struck. It's depressing that gaming companies as powerful as Activision has been unwilling to engage with their staff so far. But, something is in motion - and we hope this means their staff will get the justice they deserve.
