By ByteBot
On December 12, 2025, 165 of 185 employees (89%) at id Software—the legendary studio behind Doom—voted to form a wall-to-wall union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 6215. Microsoft immediately recognized the union under its neutrality agreement. The workers have three demands: AI protections, remote work rights, and benefits. The AI angle is what makes this unprecedented—id Software is the first major gaming union explicitly prioritizing “responsible use of AI” protections in contract negotiations.
Microsoft recently issued a directive for studios to “use AI more,” and id Software workers fear AI replacing creative work like art, writing, and level design. With 13.4% of gaming jobs predicted to be disrupted by AI by 2026, this union is a preview of AI vs. labor conflicts coming to all tech work—not just gaming.
AI Protections: Augment, Don’t Replace
Workers are negotiating for “responsible use of AI” protections based on the ZeniMax QA union’s 2023 contract. The language requires Microsoft to notify the union before implementing AI tools that “may impact the work of union members” and allows workers to bargain over those impacts. Producer Andrew Willis stated, “There’s definitely a directive from Microsoft to use [AI] more,” but the company isn’t being “careful enough” about how AI benefits game creation.
The numbers back up worker concerns. A CVL Economics study predicts 13.4% of gaming jobs will be disrupted by AI by 2026. A 2025 Game Developers Conference survey found 30% of developers believe AI is harming the industry, and 84% are concerned about AI ethics. Some indie studios have already said they “wouldn’t need to hire concept artists” because AI can generate assets for Photoshop editing. Junior artists are the most vulnerable.
The ZeniMax QA contract offers a template: “human-centered AI implementation” requiring advance notice and worker bargaining rights. Workers retain creative control, AI outputs are reviewed and edited by humans, and job security is protected. This is the first gaming union explicitly prioritizing these protections, setting a template for tech industry contracts.
Related: AI Coding Assistants: 84% Adoption Meets 46% Distrust
Microsoft’s Studio Closures Were a “Wakeup Call”
Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin in May 2024 despite game successes—Hi-Fi Rush was critically acclaimed, yet Tango was closed anyway. Lead services programmer Chris Hays described the closures as “a wakeup call for a lot of people,” prompting workers to “take our future into our own hands.” The paradox of successful games leading to studio closures proves corporate decisions aren’t based on game quality or profitability—they’re based on MBA-driven quarterly profit targets.
The broader context is grim. Microsoft laid off 1,900 gaming workers in January 2024 and cut another 650 in September 2024. The gaming industry has lost 45,000 jobs since 2022. Workers realized job security can’t be trusted to corporate goodwill. If even critically acclaimed games can’t save studios, only collective bargaining can protect jobs.
Wall-to-Wall: Programmers + Artists + Designers United
“Wall-to-wall” means the union covers all roles—programmers, artists, designers, QA, producers—not just a single department like QA. This is significant because it prevents management from dividing workers by role. Senior VFX Artist Caroline Pierrot said, “In an industry that has proven to be very unstable, more unions means more power.” The 89% support (165/185 employees) shows solidarity across tech and creative roles.
Wall-to-wall unions challenge tech exceptionalism—the idea that highly paid programmers don’t need unions. By uniting programmers with artists (who are more vulnerable to AI displacement), the union shows class solidarity. This is rare in tech, where engineers often see themselves as separate from “creative” workers. Moreover, it gives the union stronger bargaining power since management can’t play roles against each other. Bethesda Game Studios (241 workers) and the Diablo team (hundreds) have also formed wall-to-wall unions in 2024-2025.
Remote Work as a Right, Not a Perk
The union is negotiating for formal remote work rights in the contract. Chris Hays reframed remote work: “Remote work isn’t a perk. It’s a necessity for our health, our families, and our access needs.” This directly challenges Microsoft’s return-to-office pressure and positions remote work as a disability/family accommodation, not a convenience.
Developers across all tech companies face RTO pressure. By framing remote work as medical/family necessity (accessibility, caregiving), the union makes it harder for management to justify forced office returns. If id Software wins formal remote work rights, it creates a template for tech workers everywhere to demand the same.
Part of 2025 Gaming Union Wave
id Software is part of a broader trend: 1,600 gaming workers unionized in 2025 alone (CWA data), bringing Microsoft’s total union workers to over 3,600. In March 2025, CWA launched United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433, an industry-wide union that even freelancers and laid-off workers can join. ZeniMax QA’s first contract was ratified in June 2025 after two years of negotiation.
This isn’t an isolated event—it’s a movement. Gaming is leading tech in unionization because creative workers (artists, writers) feel AI threats more immediately than software engineers. But as AI coding tools mature, software developers will face the same displacement fears. Gaming unions are the canary in the coal mine for all tech work.
Key Takeaways
- id Software’s 165-worker union (89% support) is the first major gaming union explicitly prioritizing AI protections in contract negotiations, using the ZeniMax QA 2023 contract as a template
- Microsoft’s May 2024 studio closures (Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin) despite successful games proved job security requires collective bargaining, not corporate goodwill
- Wall-to-wall unions unite programmers, artists, and designers, challenging tech exceptionalism and preventing management from dividing workers by role
- Workers are negotiating formal remote work rights as disability/family accommodations, reframing remote work from “perk” to “necessity”
- 1,600 gaming workers unionized in 2025, bringing Microsoft’s total to 3,600+, with gaming leading tech in AI displacement protections that will spread to software engineering
Contract negotiations for id Software start now. If Microsoft agrees to strong AI protections, it sets a precedent for the entire tech industry. If Microsoft resists, it exposes the tension between corporate AI mandates and worker protections. Either way, every software developer will face this labor fight soon—gaming is just the beginning.
