Double Fine workers have filed an NLRB petition to form a union with the CWA, seeking voluntary recognition and representation.
Workers at Microsoft-owned Xbox studio Double Fine are pushing for a union, a move that could add momentum to a broader wave of organizing across the industry.
The studio. known as the first-party developer behind Psychonauts. filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 7 to form a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).. The effort is aimed at organizing all 42 regular part-time and full-time employees at Double Fine.
The CWA said the organizing decision was made to preserve and extend commitments related to creative excellence. diversity and inclusion. and worker quality of life.. In practical terms. the petition sets the stage for a formal path to union representation. but the workers are also asking Microsoft to recognize the union voluntarily.
Alongside the election petition process, the union emphasized its position on Microsoft’s approach.. The CWA said it appreciates that Microsoft has taken a neutral stance and agreed not to interfere with workers’ rights to organize.. That posture matters because neutrality from an employer can influence how organizing proceeds. even when an NLRB election mechanism is already in motion.
Double Fine’s organizing effort is not happening in isolation.. Workers at Microsoft-owned studios have unionized in recent years, and Double Fine is following that pattern.. In 2024. more than 500 World of Warcraft workers within Blizzard formed a union with the CWA. and the following year the Overwatch team reportedly formed a “wall-to-wall” union with nearly 200 developers.
At ZeniMax Studios. the quality assurance workforce—credited with work including The Elder Scrolls Online—ratified a union agreement with Microsoft last year.. The labor push has also extended to Blizzard’s Diablo teams. where in August 2025 more than 450 Diablo developers reportedly voted to unionize with the CWA.
Taken together. the repeated use of CWA-backed organizing across multiple studios suggests a sustained labor strategy among game developers and QA teams inside Microsoft’s ecosystem.. It also highlights a shift in how workers are seeking influence over workplace conditions. whether through negotiated agreements or formal NLRB election outcomes.
Double Fine itself became part of Microsoft in 2019.. The studio’s history stretches back nearly two decades after its original release of Psychonauts. a game about a young boy with psychic abilities.. Since coming under Xbox Game Studios. it has released Psychonauts 2. Keeper. an adventure built around a sentient lighthouse. and Kiln. a multiplayer pottery game.
For Microsoft. multiple unionization efforts across different development teams raise the question of how workplace standards and bargaining will be handled across studios with distinct roles—from production and creative work to quality assurance.. If Double Fine workers secure CWA representation. it would add another studio-level agreement to the growing map of organized labor within the company’s game development footprint.
For workers. the immediate objective is union recognition and representation without interference. paired with a focus on issues they tied to “worker quality of life. ” alongside commitments to creativity and inclusion.. If the NLRB process moves forward. the outcome will determine whether Double Fine becomes part of the same union framework already emerging across several Microsoft-owned studios.
Double Fine union CWA NLRB petition Xbox studio Microsoft labor rights game developers union Psychonauts studio