A
tweet from
ABetterABK announces the Raven QA department for
Call of Duty: Warzone
is holding a walkout today in protest of
the recent layoff of
a number of QA staff following promises to work to retain them (thanks
Kotaku). This
Google Doc explains:
On Friday December 3rd, 12 of Raven Software’s
Quality Assurance testers were brought into individual meetings and informed
that their contracts would be terminated on January 28th. These individuals were
let go in “good standing,” meaning they had not underperformed or committed any
fireable offense. The majority of those who were not let go on December 3rd are
still unsure about the status of their employment. These personnel cuts come
after five weeks of overtime, and before an anticipated end of year crunch. The
QA team, which at this point in time mainly works on Call of Duty: Warzone so
far has been reduced by just over 30%.
This team was told multiple times by Raven leadership that there were positive
departmental changes coming. These upcoming changes were also used as the reason
why no members of the team received standard promotions or raises that were
meant to be in place by March of 2021.
The 12 individuals who have been let go so far are considered by their
colleagues to be essential to the everyday functioning of the Raven QA team.
Several of those who were let go recently relocated to Wisconsin in anticipation
of the return to in person work. They did so without relocation assistance from
Raven, due to reassurances from the studio that their workload was consistent.
Call of Duty: Warzone, which recently announced the release of a new map and
integration with the Call of Duty: Vanguard title, earns $5.2 million per day.
In response to the events of Friday, the Raven QA team and other members
of Raven’s staff will be walking out with a singular demand: Every member of the
QA team, including those terminated on Friday, must be offered full time
positions. Those participating in this demonstration do so with the continued
success of the studio at the forefront of their mind. The Raven QA department is
essential to the day-to-day functioning of the studio as a whole. Terminating
the contracts of high performing testers in a time of consistent work and profit
puts the health of the studio at risk. Additionally, these actions go directly
against the positive culture that Raven has created over the years. The end goal
of this walk out is to ensure the continued growth of Raven as a studio and to
foster a positive community for everyone who works there.