Activision Blizzard–the massive gaming giant–has announced that all temporary and contingent Quality Assurance (QA) workers in the United States will be converted to full-time employees and will receive a pay-raise of $20/hour. Previously, the QA testers were temporary, but will now be given full benefits of a job.
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Activision vice president of corporate communications, Jessica Taylor, released a statement regarding the move:
Across Activision Blizzard, we are bringing more content to players across our franchises than ever before. As a result, we are refining how our teams work together to develop our games and deliver the best possible experiences for our players. We have ambitious plans for the future and our Quality Assurance (QA) team members are a critical part of our development efforts.
Therefore, today we announced the conversion of all US-based temporary and contingent QA team members at Activision Publishing (AP) and Blizzard – nearly 1,100 people in total – to permanent full-time employees starting July 1. Additionally, we are increasing the minimum hourly rate for these team members to $20/hr or more effective April 17. These employees also will be eligible to participate in the company’s bonus plan and will have access to full company benefits.
The change follows a process that began last year across AP and Blizzard of converting temporary and contingent employees, including 500 at AP’s studios, to permanent full-time employees.
The change occurs amid efforts by Raven Software employees to unionize after Activision announced it would lay off QA contractors. Raven Software is an Activision studio that works on the Call of Duty franchise. However, Raven Software QA testers were not included in receiving raises. In an email to The Verge, Activision stated that they had “legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act” and that Activision was “prohibited from making new kinds of compensation changes at Raven at this time.”
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Zainah Yousef is a writer for The DZSH Group. She is also the author of “The Fallen Age Saga.” Her areas of focus are on psychology, politics, public security, and war. She is also a frequent contributor in articles on video games and entertainment news.
Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
