A game workers' union will be taking the fight to Xbox this week, with in-person protests across six different locations. These protests will be part of the 'Save Our Devs' march, with demonstrations planned outside of several Xbox-owned studios.

This is being organised by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a union that represents game workers. The union says that more than 400 of its members lost their jobs in the layoffs that hit ZeniMax and Bethesda alone, and with more layoffs coming later in the year, that number could rise.

Rallies To Be Held Outside Xbox-Owned Studios On July 15

"The company wants us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear. We won't let that happen. Our next steps are to mobilize," the union says. "We need to show management right now that we mean business, so they will properly take care of our fellow co-workers today and think twice before ever attempting something like this again.

"Stay strong, look out for one another, and we look forward to seeing us all marching together on the 15th"

The locations for the rallies are as follows:

  • ZeniMax in Austin, Texas, US
  • ZeniMax in Rockville, Maryland, US
  • id Software in Dallas, Texas, US
  • Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, US
  • Obsidian in Irvine, California, US
  • Victoria Square, Montreal, Canada

While the layoffs have already devastated many of these studios - with id Software said to have lost up to 75 percent of its workforce - the union will now be focused on preventing this from happening again. CWA says that its members are fighting for "enforceable layoff protections", which could manifest in Microsoft being compelled to negotiate with the teams before rolling out layoffs, giving the companies more say over who goes and trying to protect as many jobs as possible.

Microsoft will be doing just that with Arkane right now, as it is based in France and therefore has better protections than those in the US. It's unclear what the results of this mandatory consultation period will be, but at the very least, it gives the workers more time to fight for their jobs, or prepare for what comes next.

Microsoft

Date Founded April 4, 1975 CEO Satya Nadella Subsidiaries activision blizzard, Microsoft Studios, Mojang Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox Game Studios Consoles Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Xbox One X, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series X|S Services Xbox Game Pass Headquarters Redmond, Washington, United States Expand Collapse