Activision QA Testers Vote to Strike Before MW4

“No QA, no games.” That is how Emily Danko, a tester at Activision and a member of her union’s bargaining committee, sums up the threat hanging over Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. On October 15, the quality assurance (QA) testers at Activision Publishing, the team that hunts bugs before and after a game ships, voted by a wide margin to authorize a strike. The game launches worldwide on October 23, and the publisher has offered two meetings, on the 21st and 22nd.

What the testers voted for

The press release from the CWA union (Communications Workers of America), published October 15, describes an “overwhelmingly” favorable vote, without giving a figure. Local chapters 6215, 7250 and 9400 thereby give CWA president Claude Cummings Jr. the power to call a strike if negotiations stay stuck. The day before, employees had rallied outside the offices of Activision Publishing in Bloomington, Minnesota.

A strike authorization vote is not a strike. Ethan Gach, at Kotaku, spells it out: the union has cleared the last hurdle that lets it stop work at any time, nothing more. The testers themselves call it a last resort, decided collectively.

The dispute has dragged on for a long time. Nearly 600 testers formed the AQAU-CWA union in March 2024, after Microsoft bought the publisher. Negotiations for a first contract began in August 2024. More than two years later, there is still no agreement. “Bargaining has been a long, exhausting process spanning over two years,” Emily Danko says in the press release.

Pay, AI, contractors: what they are asking for

The CWA lists four sticking points:

• pay raises;
• safeguards on the use of AI in testing teams;
• limits on the use of contractors;
• the right to request workplace accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

AI worries people more here than elsewhere, because testing is often cited as a job that generative AI could automate. “QA is more than checking boxes,” Emily Danko reminds Kotaku. The same article gives a figure that explains the distrust: the bargaining unit now has a little over 400 members, against nearly 600 when it was created. Close to a third of the positions have disappeared in two and a half years.

Nathan Grayson, at Aftermath, adds the return to the office. According to union members, the company has granted no remote-work exceptions since the union was recognized, apart from two employees who were already remote. Some call it a “soft layoff,” especially for disabled employees. Jordan Kunze, a former delegate, accepted the voluntary departure offered in September 2026. He earned $22.43 an hour and now works at a gas station for about half that.

The comparison that stings comes from Blizzard, another Microsoft subsidiary. Its unions won a contract that covers remote work, protections against layoffs and against AI, and a right of recall. “They want to give us much, much less than what Blizzard has been able to secure,” says Jenna Huffman, a tester and member of the bargaining committee.

What a strike would change for Modern Warfare 4

The calendar gives the vote its weight. Modern Warfare 4 has been playable in early access since October 16, and its worldwide launch lands on the 23rd. Launch week is when patches come one after another, and every patch goes through the testers’ hands before it reaches players. Emily Danko told Aftermath: “There could be more bugs. There could be server issues. There could be missing features.”

For its part, the publisher says it saw this coming. Its spokesperson, quoted by Aftermath and GamesBeat, states: “We have plans in place to ensure there is no disruption to players or upcoming game releases.” It does not say what they are. The union, for its part, does not only weigh on testing: according to its press release, the CWA represents nearly 2,500 Activision Blizzard employees in total.

October 21 and 22, two days before launch

Activision says it is bargaining “in good faith” and claims “meaningful progress on a number of issues.” The publisher has offered to meet again on October 21 and 22. It also says it respects its employees’ right to strike. On the union side, Jenna Huffman answers that members are “tired of the stalling.”

The context does not reassure the testers. Kotaku points out that Microsoft has promised further job cuts in the coming months, as part of the overhaul of its Xbox division. It is not the first wave: in January 2024, the group had already cut 1,900 positions at Activision Blizzard (in French). If the October 21 and 22 meetings fail, the CWA will be able to call a strike on the eve of the launch of Modern Warfare 4.