Rockville, Maryland - A "supermajority" of game developers at Microsoft-owned ZeniMax Studios reportedly voted to unionize, forming the first labor union that has been recognized by the software maker.

The union will consist of about 300 game testers from ZeniMax's studios in Maryland and Texas, including Doom-makers id Software, as well as Arkane and Bethesda.

This is according to organizers at the Communication Workers of America (CWA), which will encompass the new ZeniMax Workers United union.

Microsoft voluntarily recognized the union after a third-party confirmed the vote, the CWA said. Workers went public with their intent to unionize in December.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for November 19, 2024: The best jokes to laugh the day away

"In light of the results of the recent unionization vote, we recognize the Communications Workers of America as the bargaining representative for the Quality Assurance employees at ZeniMax," a spokesperson for Microsoft and ZeniMax said, according to CNBC.

"We look forward to engaging in good-faith negotiations as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement."

The move "will strengthen [Microsoft's] corporate culture and ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators," said CWA leader Chris Shelton.

"This is an empowering victory that allows us to protect ourselves and each other in a way we never could without a union," said one ZeniMax staff member, Skylar Hinnant, in the town of Rockville, Maryland.

"Our hope and belief is that this is the year in which game workers across the country exercise their power and reshape the industry as a whole," said Hinnant.

Microsoft bought ZeniMax in 2021 for $7.5 billion, gaining ownership of game series like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom.