Psychonauts Developer Double Fine Is Forming a Union

Psychonauts and Kiln developer Double Fine Productions has laid the groundwork to go the latest Microsoft workplace to signifier a union.

As archetypal reported by Aftermath, the San Francisco-based crippled workplace filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board May 7, 2026. The enactment effort with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) follows the 450 Blizzard Entertainment unit who voted to unionize successful August 2025, and the national formed by 165 developers astatine id Software the pursuing December, arsenic good arsenic others. As outlined successful the petition, the Double Fine national volition see 42 "regular part-time and full-time employees."

“On May 7, the workers astatine Microsoft workplace Double Fine Productions announced their determination to signifier a national with CWA to sphere and widen the studio’s commitments to originative excellence, diverseness and inclusion, and idiosyncratic prime of life," CWA told Aftermath successful a statement. "In tandem with requesting voluntary designation from the company, workers person besides filed an predetermination petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unafraid national representation. We admit that Microsoft has taken a neutral attack and agreed not to interfere successful immoderate mode with worker’s rights to signifier unions.”

Double Fine was acquired by Microsoft successful 2019 and has a 25-year past successful the gaming space. Its astir well-known rubric is astir apt the mind-bending platformer Psychonauts, which went connected to get a sequel successful 2021. Other fashionable titles nether its loop see Brutal Legend, Broken Age, and Costume Quest. Kiln, a multiplayer brawler that lets players power moldable pieces of pottery, arrived arsenic its astir caller task conscionable weeks ago, connected April 23, 2026.

Double Fine's determination to unionize arrives successful the midst of a play of uncertainty for Microsoft. Following layoffs that affected astir 9,100 employees successful July 2025 and adjacent much successful 2024, a Bloomberg study successful October of past twelvemonth stated that the Xbox institution had allegedly been pushing its crippled developers to present a steep 30% nett margin. In summation to the layoffs, Microsoft cancelled aggregate projects, including games from the now-shuttered The Initiative, ZeniMax Online Studios, and Rare, successful 2025 alone.

Shakeups astatine the institution continued successful February 2026 erstwhile it was announced that some Xbox CEO Phil Spencer and Xbox president Sarah Bond would beryllium leaving the company. Then-Microsoft CoreAI president Asha Sharma has since replaced Spencer arsenic CEO, with Xbox Game Studios caput Matt Booty stepping successful arsenic main contented originative officer. Sharma's clip successful the spot has already been followed by a fig of different changes, including a enactment reshuffle and the discontinuation of Copilot connected console past week, arsenic good arsenic Game Pass terms cuts.

The CWA said successful its connection that Microsoft has agreed to instrumentality a neutral attack to unionization astatine Double Fine aft the expiration of a erstwhile neutrality statement precocious past year. Other Microsoft developers who worked to signifier unions earlier the statement expired see unit from the World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Blizzard Story and Franchise Development teams. Meanwhile, Raven Software Quality Assurance developers became the archetypal Activision Blizzard workers to unionize successful 2022 earlier scoring their archetypal declaration with Microsoft conscionable past August.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).