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# With Call Of Duty Release Near And No Union Contract In Sight, Activision Workers Authorize Strike
- URL: https://aftermath.site/activision-qa-workers-union-strike-call-of-duty-layoffs/
- Published: 2026-10-15T19:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T20:19:36.000Z
- Description: "There could be more bugs. There could be server issues. There could be missing features. ... No QA, no games"
- Author: Nathan Grayson
- Tags: Feature, News, Labor, activision, microsoft, xbox, blizzard, layoffs, call of duty

Following the 2024 completion of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard purchase, Jordan Kunze, a now-former Activision union steward and QA employee of several years, spent “well over a year” fighting to obtain a remote work accommodation due to a documented medical condition. What was supposed to be an “interactive” process, he told Aftermath, devolved into a series of brick walls. The company wanted Kunze and other QA workers in office, and it wouldn’t take no for an answer. Now, with remote work on the line—as well as wage increases, AI protections, and more—Activision’s QA union has voted to authorize a strike.

“I repeatedly received essentially the same answer \[from Activision\]: that working in the office was considered an essential function of my position and that the company would not meaningfully consider remote work,” Kunze said. “I have watched coworkers struggle with similar issues involving accommodations, attendance, return-to-office expectations, AI uncertainty, outsourcing fears, and inconsistent treatment. Employees frequently tell each other they are exhausted. Many stay quiet because they fear retaliation. Some leave.”

Near his wit’s end in 2025, Kunze gathered documentation of his experience and filed complaints with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Then came multiple internal investigations of Kunze’s conduct from company brass in 2026, which to Kunze felt retaliatory.

> "Employees frequently tell each other they are exhausted. Many stay quiet because they fear retaliation. Some leave."

Aftermath reached out to Activision and Microsoft for more details, but neither company replied to questions about Kunze's case.

Up until that point [a vocal union advocate](https://aftermath.site/activision-unfair-labor-practice-guns-cwa-call-of-duty/), Kunze ended up stepping down as a steward for personal reasons. Still, he continued to feel like he was on the thinnest sliver of ice.

“I unfortunately feel as though I have a target on my back with this place,” he told Aftermath in August 2026\. “I’m very outspoken on issues and consistently call the company \[on\] when they hurt us. And I've definitely seen a negative impact towards myself increase accordingly.”

In September 2026, Activision offered some employees a voluntary severance package. Exhausted, Kunze took it, even though it prevented him from continuing to pursue his legal complaints against the company. He now works at a gas station, which he says pays half as much but does not take anywhere near the same toll on his mental health. 

“Being in that office was a constant battle for my health,” he said. “Working in a gas station kitchen is safer for me \[than\] driving 53 miles one way and spending 11 hours out from home every day at minimum for an 8-hour shift.”

Kunze’s experience is a worst-case scenario, the exact kind remaining members of Activision’s QA union are fighting to avoid. 

“\[Kunze’s\] story was extremely important to us, and it's something we continue to hear—not just for one or two workers, but for several people in our offices across all three locations,” bargaining committee member and QA tester Jenna Huffman told Aftermath. “Folks need to be able to work and work safely. And if they can't do that in a healthy environment, it doesn't accomplish anything for anyone.”

> “It's been two years now since that \[RTO\] process actually started, and we're still feeling the effects of that and losing so many people.”

For years now, employees at Activision and other major video game companies have [fought back against strict return-to-office policies](https://aftermath.site/activision-workers-speak-out-against-return-to-office-mandate-that-they-see-as-soft-layoffs/) that they view as a form of “soft layoff,” especially where workers with disabilities are concerned. 

“The whole concern around \[soft layoffs\] is still talked about to this day,” bargaining committee member and QA tester Emily Danko told Aftermath. “It's been two years now since that \[RTO\] process actually started, and we're still feeling the effects of that and losing so many people.” 

Since the union was formed, said Huffman and Danko, Activision has made zero exceptions for remote employees.

“There haven't been any exceptions for \[remote work\] since we returned to office two years ago,” said Huffman. “Two employees managed to remain working from home because that's how they were when this union formed, but anybody after we were recognized as a union who tried to apply for work from home was outright denied.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/10/IMG_4366-1.png)

Workers rallying outside an Activision Publishing buildling (CWA)

For that reason and many others, the Activision QA union, still without a contract after two years of bargaining, has voted to authorize a strike. Members feel like higher ups have stonewalled them at every turn—a sentiment that was [shared by workers at other Microsoft studios like Blizzard](https://aftermath.site/microsoft-xbox-union-workers-layoffs-blizzard-zenimax/) and [Zenimax](https://aftermath.site/microsoft-zenimax-cwa-union-contract-negotiations-strike/) before they managed to finally secure their contracts. The Activision QA union wants to show that it means business.

“When they continue to delay and stall in this way, it prevents us from getting where we need to be,” said Huffman. “That just drives us closer and closer to having to strike.”

In a statement to Aftermath, an Activision spokesperson painted a very different picture of the bargaining process.

"Activision has been working in good faith with the CWA for the Central QA team and we have made meaningful progress on a number of issues," the spokesperson said. "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."

Like workers at Blizzard, Activision QA union members have rallied outside company offices as recently as this week, but striking—a full-on work stoppage—would carry significantly more weight. As a result, workers plan to deploy it only as a last resort.

“Any decisions about extending a strike or taking further action will be made collectively,” added Danko. “There are no dates set at this time since it is an authorization, but we are prepared to take action if needed, and prepared to further that if needed.”

> “When they continue to delay and stall in this way, it prevents us from getting where we need to be. That just drives us closer and closer to having to strike.”

Activision’s QA union has been inspired by the wins picked up by Blizzard’s unions, which last month announced that after years of bargaining, they’d [secured a studio-wide mega-contract](https://aftermath.site/blizzard-union-contract-warcraft-overwatch-diablo/) that includes a hybrid (or, in some cases, remote) work schedule, layoff and AI protections, recall rights, and just cause-specific language. Activision QA workers have, for quite some time, made similar demands, specifically negotiating for “wage increases, guardrails on AI usage, the company’s usage of contractors, and workers’ rights to seek accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act,” according to CWA, the union that has helped thousands of Microsoft workers organize.

But Activision, say Huffman and Danko, has continually and bafflingly insisted that its workers do not deserve the same rights as Blizzard workers.

“Activision doesn’t seem to understand that we are doing very similar work \[to Blizzard workers\], and in a lot of ways, what they have secured in their contract can be secured for us as well,” said Huffman. “They don't see it that way. They want to give us much, much less than what Blizzard has been able to secure. … They haven't given any justification. The only answer they've given us for that is to say that we are different companies. That's it.”

QA often occupies the bottom rung of the hierarchy at many video game studios. Over the years, I’ve heard stories of QA teams being siloed away in separate rooms or separate floors of studios—and even being thrown separate (worse) Christmas parties. This is because many view QA as an unskilled, entry level-position, often with pay to match (Kunze told Aftermath that he was making $22.43 per hour before he left Activision). But testers are the last line of defense against derisive remarks from the “lazy devs” crowd and the first assurance that a game’s component parts actually cohere—that it is, well, fun.

“QA is more than just checking a box off; it's human judgment, contextual understanding, and the ability to recognize problems that automated systems may miss,” said Danko. “I was always told and under the impression that QA is the foot in the door for further \[advancement\], but I've personally chosen to stay in QA because I just love it.” 

As with pretty much every other major American video game studio, AI remains a big sticking point. Mandates haven’t been shoved down Activision QA workers’ throats [as violently as at, say, Epic](https://aftermath.site/epic-sweeney-ai-star-wars-fortnite/), but it’s clear as day that workers need protections now more than ever.

“We aren't asked to use AI in our everyday work,” said Danko. “We did have a goal for, like, two years to kind of play with it, and a lot of people pushed back on it, and they eventually took it away as a goal. The whole impact of AI, though, just raises some serious questions about the future of QA, because discussing automating tasks without adequately addressing the workers whose jobs and expertise are affected \[stands to make\] a big impact.” 

> “QA is more than just checking a box off; it's human judgment, contextual understanding, and the ability to recognize problems that automated systems may miss."

Now, with *Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4* about to enter a brief early access period before releasing on October 23, workers also feel like this is a golden opportunity to demonstrate just how essential QA is to the video game development process.

“We want players to know that this game has been built against the backdrop of these negotiations,” said Huffman, “and while it gets harder and harder for us to get our work done, it might require us to stop coming in to work and to strike, and that will reflect on the game. 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.”

“If \[Activision\] keeps messing around, that leaves less time for testing,” said Danko. “There could be more bugs. There could be server issues. There could be missing features, and players may lose confidence in how \[Activision is\] treating their employees, who make their games. No QA, no games: that's what we have been saying.”

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