Team behind “Magic: The Gathering Arena” wants to form a union

Employees of the Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast announced on Monday that they want to organize as a union. Wizards of the Coast develops and distributes, among other things, the collectible card game “Magic: The Gathering” and its digital offshoot “Magic: The Gathering Arena,” as well as the pen-and-paper role-playing game “Dungeons & Dragons”.

The group calls itself “United Wizards of the Coast” and has sent an open letter to management demanding recognition of their union. According to The Guardian, it involves more than a hundred employees of the team that develops “Magic: The Gathering Arena.” The letter states that a large majority of the team supports the unionization efforts.

The employees want to form their own unit under the umbrella of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a large US union representing employees from industries such as telecommunications, media, and increasingly also the tech and gaming industries.

The group is demanding recognition from management by May 1st and has also filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency responsible for union elections and the enforcement of labor rights in the US.

The petition serves as leverage: it is intended to ensure that the recognition of the union is clarified promptly and serves as a legally binding safeguard if the company does not recognize it. If voluntary recognition occurs, the group intends to withdraw the petition.

What the developers are demanding

In their letter, the group is demanding, among other things, better protection against dismissals, clear guidelines for the use of generative AI, and measures against mandatory crunch phases. According to the Guardian report, the current efforts are also a response to a planned office mandate: remote employees were reportedly asked to move to the headquarters in Washington, otherwise they would face termination.

The unionization efforts are taking place against the backdrop of a tense situation in the gaming industry, characterized by waves of layoffs and growing uncertainty. At the same time, the federal agency NLRB, responsible for union elections and the enforcement of labor rights in the US, has come under political pressure under the Trump administration. The CWA is therefore focusing on other forms of organization in addition to traditional work councils.

With United Videogame Workers-CWA, it has established a structure specifically for video game developers since 2025, which employees can join directly, even if their employer has not recognized the union. It now has almost 600 members in the US and Canada. The model does not replace a legally recognized collective bargaining mandate, but it is intended to build organizational power without being solely dependent on NLRB procedures.

(mki)