A collective of Microsoft gaming personnel has secured a preliminary agreement with the corporation, setting a precedent for the sector.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA), which advocates for more than 300 quality assurance employees at ZeniMax Studios, revealed the arrangement on Friday. ZeniMax, which Microsoft acquired in 2020, serves as the parent organization for video game creators Arkane Studios, id Software, and MachineGames, along with the publisher Bethesda Softworks.

The ZeniMax Workers United-CWA initially organized in 2023, and following two years of dialogue, they have achieved a contractual agreement with Microsoft. This contract features salary increases, minimum wage standards, safeguards against arbitrary termination, processes for grievances, and a policy that recognizes the contributions of QA workers.

Additionally, the contract encompasses a 2023 accord regarding AI. ZeniMax committed to notifying about AI implementations that affect the work of union members, along with the chance to negotiate those effects.

“Confronting one of the largest companies globally is no minor achievement. This represents a significant triumph for all present video game employees and for those who will follow,” stated Page Branson, Senior II QA Tester and member of the ZeniMax Workers United-CWA bargaining committee.

“Workers within the video game sector are proving yet again that collective strength is effective. This agreement illustrates what can be achieved when employees unite and reject the existing norms,” remarked CWA President Claude Cummings Jr.

In recent years, employees at video game studios have intensified efforts to organize. Last year, staff at Bethesda Studios and Activision QA workers established a union. In March, the CWA introduced an industry-wide union for the U.S. and Canada named the United Videogame Workers-CWA.

Disclosure: Workers at Mashable, along with employees at other tech firms owned by Ziff Davis, are represented by the NewsGuild-CWA.