GamesIndustry.biz reports the progress of Raven Software employees' endeavour to unionize.

Call of Duty QA workers vote to unionize

78% of Raven Software testers vote to form union, ask Activision Blizzard to voluntarily recognize a group of 34 members

QA testers at Raven Software have voted to unionize with the Communication Workers of America, according to a Polygon report.

A CWA representative told the site that 78% of eligible QA workers voted in favor of unionization, and they are asking Activision Blizzard to voluntarily recognize the union, which is calling itself the Game Workers Alliance. The bargaining unit would consist of 34 employees.

"We ask that Activision Blizzard management respect Raven QA workers by voluntarily recognizing CWA's representation without hesitation," CWA secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens said. "A collective bargaining agreement will give Raven QA employees a voice at work, improving the games they produce and making the company stronger. Voluntary recognition is the rational way forward."

A number of Raven Software QA employees have been on strike since early December, demanding that contracted members of the QA team that were recently laid off -- the publisher said it declined to extend their agreements -- be offered the chance to return in a full-time position. [...]

Update: An Activision Blizzard representative provided a comment to GamesIndustry.biz, saying, "Activision Blizzard is carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organize around three dozen of the company's nearly 10,000 employees. While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union. [...]

Zork Anthology has been released at Good Old Games, says Gamebanshee. I know this is somewhat outside our regular post about rpg games, but I bet many os us have played these games, and have fond memories of them. Now, thanks to GOG, you can play them again. So now you can again be eaten by a grue...

• The pack includes Zork I, Zork II, Zork III, Beyond Zork, Zork Zero, and Planetfall.
• Twisted humour served with an intriguing history of an absurd world.
• Humorous and abstract solutions to incredible puzzles.

Amazingly the big cash cow (WoW) can't keep AB out of the red, and it doesn't seem to be April the first.

The past several weeks have seen a steady stream of dreary financial results, with THQ, Sega, Sony, and Electronic Arts all announcing losses and layoffs. However, several companies have issued positive earnings reports, including Ubisoft, Take-Two, and Nintendo.

Today, the biggest third-party publisher of them all, Activsion Blizzard, weighed in with an earnings announcement which is both good and bad. On one hand, the company's record $2.3 billion in October-December net revenue beat the $2.15 billion a Thomson Reuters survey of analysts had predicted. On the other, the company posted a $72 million loss during a quarter when it launched new entries in its three biggest franchises: Guitar Hero World Tour (October 26), Call of Duty: World at War (November 10), and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (November 13).

Gamespot reports on the financials of the merged Activison Blizzard, WotLK due this year and Subscribers are now over the 10.9 million last announced.

Following the merger, French media conglomerate Vivendi revealed yesterday that it is in rude health financially. According to the company's half-year earnings report, revenue for the first six months of 2008 is up 10.2 percent from the same period last year, from €10.223 million ($14.918 million) to €11.268 million ($16,443 million).

Despite the increase in group revenue, Vivendi's games division earning were actually down from the same period in 2007, with EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) dropping 22.7 percent to €92 million ($130 million)--partly due to World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade launching during the same period last year. Vivendi confirmed the next WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, is on track for release later this year and that the number of subscribers has now surpassed 10.9 million.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick talks about the Blizzard merger at gamesindustry.biz.