Xbox Developer Double Fine Files to Form Union

Double Fine, the first-party Xbox game developer behind Psychonauts, is forming a union with the Communications Workers of America. As Aftermath reports, the studio filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on May 7 to form a union involving all 42 regular part-time and full-time employees. The CWA told the publication that the studio made the decision to organize to "preserve and extend" its commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life. Workers are asking Microsoft for voluntary recognition, in addition to filing an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board to secure union representation. CWA said it appreciates that Microsoft has taken a neutral approach and agreed not to interfere with workers' rights to organize unions. The workers of Double Fine are following in the footsteps of other Microsoft-owned developer groups that have unionized in the past. More than 500 World of Warcraft workers within Blizzard formed a union with the CWA in 2024, while the Overwatch team formed a wall-to-wall union with nearly 200 developers almost a year later. The quality assurance employees of ZeniMax Studios ratified their union agreement with Microsoft last year. Double Fine became part of Microsoft in 2019, almost two decades after it released Psychonauts. Under Xbox Game Studios, it released Psychonauts 2, Keeper, and multiplayer pottery game Kiln.