‘Magic: The Gathering Arena’ Developers Tap Into Collective Power, Convoke To Unionize With CWA

A supermajority of game developers behind the popular digital trading card game Magic: The Gathering Arena have announced their intent to form a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), marking the first organizing effort at Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast. The Renton, Washington-based studio is best known for the mega-franchises Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons.

Workers sent a letter to management earlier this week, hoping to counter some darker industry trends via collective bargaining and, through force of will, achieve better employment conditions, including protections against layoffs, guarantees of remote work, guardrails on generative AI, limits on mandatory crunch, and greater pay equity and transparency. Workers gave management until the end of the week to voluntarily recognize the union, and have also filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to ensure timely certification. The announcement was timed to land just ahead of International Workers’ Day.

If recognized by the studio, contract negotiations will be held, with both sides aiming to turn their swords to plowshares after agreeing on mutually beneficial terms.

In a release, senior software development engineer and member of UWOTC-CWA Damien Wilson, said:

At Wizards, we’re organizing for a say in layoffs, accountability that runs up and down the chain, and a living wage that actually lets people build a life. I’m hopeful about what we can build here and being clear-eyed about why it’s necessary. This isn’t just something that affects Wizards of the Coast; It’s how most American workplaces are set up: investor profit above all, even if it hurts those behind the products we all know and love. Unions are the missing counterweight to protect our craft.

Senior software development engineer Neil White, who spent most of his career working outside the U.S., pointed to American at-will employment as a particular concern:

Since moving to the United States after spending most of my working life in other countries, at-will employment has always felt like a dark cloud hanging over me and my colleagues in the industry. Unions are the tool we have as workers to push back on our employers to demand fair treatment. They’re how we protect against choices that impact our coworkers and friends and the product we all work on and love.

In response, Wizards of the Coast put out a statement which reads:

We have received the filing and are reviewing it carefully. Our employees are the lifeblood of what makes us great, and we are committed to fostering a workplace where every person feels heard, valued, and supported. We believe we have a strong connection with everyone at Wizards of the Coast and that direct relationship with our employees is essential to how we work together to capture the imagination of our fans and players, inspiring a lifetime love of our games. We appreciate hearing about the needs and interests of our employees through this filing, and will respond through the appropriate process.

The workers’ effort expands a fast-growing wave of organizing in the gaming industries. Over the past several years, major studios, including Blizzard, Activision, Ubisoft, and Sega, have seen groups of employees band together to demand collective bargaining rights. There has been a similar push in the tabletop game space, as workers there fight for better working conditions.

CWA District 7 vice president Susie McAllister said the announcement is a milestone for the industry as a whole:

Today’s union announcement is a milestone not just for these workers but for the games industry as a whole. Whether someone is designing digital worlds or crafting tabletop experiences, every worker deserves job security, fair compensation, and a seat at the table. Together, we will ensure that the people who bring these games to life are treated with the dignity and respect that they’ve always deserved. CWA District 7 is honored to stand with these members as they take this historic step toward union representation.

Laid-off and freelance workers have continued joining through CWA’s direct-join formation, United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433, which launched in 2025 and now counts nearly 600 members across the U.S. and Canada. The local will host its inaugural Game Workers Conference virtually on May 22 and 23.