Employees at Double Fine, a game studio owned by Microsoft, are taking steps to form a union. They recently filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and are partnering with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) to achieve union representation.
Double Fine was started in July 2000 by Tim Schafer after he left LucasArts. Since then, the studio has created many popular and unique games, such as Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, and Broken Age. Microsoft bought Double Fine in 2019, but the studio continued to operate independently. As part of the Xbox family, Double Fine has released more games, including Psychonauts 2 and Keeper, on various platforms.
Double Fine Announces Union Election Petition
After releasing its new multiplayer game, Kiln, Double Fine announced it’s forming a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). This move comes as many in the gaming industry face uncertainty. According to reports, 42 employees, both full-time and part-time, will be part of the union. Double Fine filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in San Francisco and is also requesting that Microsoft voluntarily recognize the union. The CWA stated that Double Fine workers are forming the union to maintain the studio’s dedication to creativity, diversity, inclusion, and a good quality of life for its employees.
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As of today, the effort to unionize Double Fine is still ongoing. If successful, Double Fine would become one of the few studios owned by Microsoft with a unionized workforce. This would also be the first union formed under the leadership of Asha Sharma, who became Xbox CEO after Phil Spencer retired in February 2026. Since taking the role, Sharma has brought in several leaders she previously worked with at Microsoft’s CoreAI team. She also announced the end of Copilot development for Xbox consoles and mobile, stating it doesn’t fit with Xbox’s future plans.
Microsoft’s History With Unions May Favor Double Fine
After Microsoft acquired Zenimax and Activision Blizzard, workers at several studios, including Raven Software, began organizing unions with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). In August 2025, the team responsible for developing the Diablo game voted to form a union that includes all of its members – over 450 employees at Blizzard’s Team 3. This followed the successful creation of the World of Warcraft Gamemaker’s Guild in 2024, which represented more than 500 employees in California and Massachusetts.
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Even though Microsoft’s old agreement about staying neutral in union matters has ended, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) says Microsoft will continue to respect the efforts of Double Fine employees to form a union. It’s still unclear when Microsoft and the union will begin negotiations.
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2026-05-11 02:05