Growing Number of Xbox Employees Join Unions Amid Major Strategic Changes

Double Fine, the Xbox-owned studio known for titles like Psychonauts 2, Kiln, and Keeper, is moving forward with unionization. This initiative comes shortly after Asha Sharma stepped in as the new CEO of Xbox, indicating a growing desire among Xbox employees for protections amid significant strategic changes.

Reports indicate that Double Fine filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board on May 7. The union will encompass all 42 full-time and part-time employees at the studio and is being organized with support from the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

In a statement, the CWA highlighted that the union aims to “preserve and extend the studio’s commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life.” Over the past few years, several other teams within Xbox-owned studios, including Blizzard Entertainment, Raven Software, and ZeniMax Online Studios, have also unionized. Currently, the CWA notes that Microsoft has adopted a “neutral approach” and has agreed not to interfere with employees’ rights to organize.

The unionization of Double Fine is particularly significant given the studio’s distinct role within Xbox Game Studios and the recent leadership transitions in Microsoft’s gaming division. Asha Sharma, who took the helm in February, has already implemented several major changes, such as removing Call of Duty from Xbox Game Pass, reducing the subscription price, canceling plans for a Gaming Copilot AI assistant, and restructuring Xbox’s leadership team.

Double Fine was acquired during Phil Spencer’s leadership with the intention of serving as a more boutique, indie-style producer of Game Pass content for Xbox. However, the future of Double Fine within Xbox remains uncertain, especially since titles like Keeper and Kiln don’t generate the same level of excitement as franchises like Gears of War or Halo.

Given these significant shifts at Xbox, it’s crucial for Double Fine’s employees to advocate for additional union-backed protections. While the studio has released two games in the past year, Xbox’s Matt Booty recently hinted in an interview that a third game is still in the works at Double Fine.