Activision Blizzard converts all US-based QA workers to full-time, increased pay

Activision Blizzard has announced on Thursday that it will transform all U.S.-based temp and contingent quality assurance positions (QA) to full-time roles. Activision Blizzard is converting nearly 1100 of its temporary and contingent quality assurance (QA) workers to full-time employees. This will increase pay up to $20/hour and allow QA workers to access bonuses and other benefits.

Mike Ybarra (Activision Publishing chief operating Officer) shared this information with his staff on Thursday.

“Across Activision Blizzard, we are bringing more content to players across our franchises than ever before,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson said in an statement emailed to Polygon. “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.”

The conversion of all U.S.-based QA staff to full-time employment increases Activision Publishing’s total full-time workforce by 25%. An Activision Blizzard spokesperson said that both Activision Publishing and Blizzard Entertainment will continue to use “external partner support” for QA workers when “workload spikes and exceeds the team’s bandwidth.”

Activision Blizzard provided two emails for staff at Polygon.

Email from Josh Taub Chief Operating Officer at Activision Publishing to AP U.S employees

Josh Taub

Subject line: Update on QA

Team,

In the past two years, Duty CallThe company has evolved and expanded. Our development cycles have gone from an annual release to an “always on” model. In response to greater engagement, we’ve increased our live services business across all platforms. We now offer season passes and operators as well as the amazing content found in our shops. We’ve also grown our workforce and support across our studios, along with exciting new plans on mobile.

These changes have led to us refining our collaboration between our development teams as we plan for the future. Our development success is dependent on QA. We have amazing QA teams in place that work hard to ensure our players have the best possible gaming experiences – thank you!

I’m pleased to announce that we are converting all US-based temporary and contingent QA workers to full time employees (FTEs). We are increasing their hourly rate to a minimum of $20/hr and providing access to full company benefits, and they will be eligible to participate in the company’s bonus program.

This change follows the conversion of nearly 500 temporary and contingent workers to permanent full-time employees at Activision Publishing’s studios, and other ongoing conversions that have taken place in the past few months.

As Duty Call evolves, we anticipate periods where the workload will fluctuate and exceed our expanded team’s bandwidth. With this in mind, we’re adding extra support for our team from external partners. It is an industry tradition and a studio that has been in place for many years. This will allow us to be more flexible and able to meet the business’s needs, and allows our employees to concentrate on what matters most to our company.

We will work together to change the rules and make a difference. Duty CallTo the next level.

-Josh

Mike Ybarra Head of Blizzard, sends email to employees at Blizzard

Mike Ybarra

Subject: Delivering Blizzard Quality: QA Full Time Conversions

Hi Blizzard,

We’ve shared with many of you the exciting experiences we’re bringing to players in 2022 and beyond. There’s so much happening across our teams – and this is just the beginning of our renewed focus in putting our teams and players at the forefront of everything we do.

Our ability to deliver great games at the “Blizzard quality” level our players expect is vital to ensuring we exceed player expectations. Over the last 6 months, I’ve had the opportunity to listen and engage with members of our QA team and we’ve had several meetings where I outlined my philosophy about contract/full-time roles. Thank you to everyone who educated me and shared their ideas on making Blizzard a player-focused gaming studio. We know that quality assurance (QA) is crucial to our ability provide the best gaming experiences.

QA leaders started changing the way they staff their team. They converted more contract workers (TEAs), to full time employees (FTEs) and used partners to help with short-term surges in workload. Today, this shift in approach is culminating in a conversion of all of the remaining U.S.-based TEAs/contractors in QA – more than 90 people across Irvine, Austin and Albany – to FTEs. We’re also increasing the minimum hourly rate for QA to $20/hour, and they will be eligible for our bonus program and increased benefits.

We have amazing QA talent, and I’m very happy to make this change so that we can focus and deliver for players around the globe. For any queries, you can reach me, Wladia Summers, or your HR partner.

We appreciate your input and help in making this change.

We are grateful.

Mike

In addition to 500 additional full-time staff converts last year, the 1,100 positions will be full-time. At the time, however, 20 temporary workers across Activision Blizzard studios were told their contracts were not included — 12 of which worked on Warzone: Call of DutyRaven Software. This kicked off a strike that eventually led to Raven Software’s QA union push with the Communication Workers of America. Game Workers Alliance was the name of the group. Activision Blizzard refused to recognize it. This group will now wait for a decision from the National Labor Relations Board before proceeding to an official union vote. During that hearing, union leaders accused the company of “union-busting.”

It’s unclear at this time how Activision Blizzard’s QA expansion will impact Raven Software’s unionization effort. We’ve reached out to Activision Blizzard for clarification.

QA was historically misunderstood as an unskilled division in the videogame industry. Activision Blizzard QA employees told Polygon in August that QA contracts created a system which made it difficult for them to progress or feel secure in their career, on top the intense work and low wages. Upping pay minimums across the board to $20 per hour, as well as largely eliminating the contract structure, is a win for the workers who’ve been fighting for change within the company.