Quality assurance developers have been striking at Call of Duty: Warzone developer Raven Software following a series of questionable layoffs made in December 2021. Now Call of Duty publisher Activision has responded to the ongoing situation.
Developers behind Call of Duty: Warzone decided to walk out of the studio after a number of employees were laid off a few days prior. The QA developers had been promised a raise before being told they were actually being let go. On December 6, Activision stated that some temporary workers were being moved to full-time status, leaving some other temporary workers without a job.
The strike that followed had employees demanding that the fired temporary employees be given full-time status. The employees that walked out wrote a letter to Activision that explained their position, stating that the department didn’t have any input into the situation and that it was looking to discuss the situation with Activision.
Activision responds to Call of Duty strike
Almost a month later, Activision has publicly responded to the strike. A spokesperson stated that Activision is “deeply committed” to the wellness of every team employed by the company, including the QA workforce. Raven Software has allegedly listened to the employees’ concerns and explained the company’s “overall investment in development resources.” Activision repeated once again that 500 temporary workers were made full-time.
“For the 12 temporary workers at Raven whose agreements were not extended, we provided an extended notice period, included payment for the two-week holiday break, and will be working directly with those that need relocation assistance,” Activision claimed.
The strike is still going at the time of writing. Employees still working on the game have come back from a break and are attempting to fix Call of Duty: Warzone’s many bugs and balance issues. The game has been frustrating for many players, and at least some of that frustration could be attributed to the lack of QA testing resulting from the strike.
