Quality assurance (QA) workers at Raven Software, a subsidiary of gaming conglomerate Activision-Blizzard (ATVI  ), successfully voted to unionize in a significant labor victory for industry workers. The vote makes Raven Software's QA staff the first to unionize at a major gaming company (or subsidiary).

In December, the effort to unionize began when 12 QA employees were notified that they would be laid off, prompting a five-week strike by the remaining staff. The remnant QA staff partnered with the Communications Workers of America union to form the Game Workers Alliance following the strike. The union push came after revelations in the media of overwork and underpay in many gaming studios and came amid Blizzard's probe for sexual misconduct and racial discrimination.

Much like unionizing workers at Starbucks (SBUX  ), Raven Software employees faced anti-union pressures from higher-ups at Activision-Blizzard. Writing to employees amid the push by the CWA and GWA, the company wrote, "We ask only that you take time to consider the consequences of your signature on the binding legal document presented to you by the CWA." The firm attempted to contest with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the workers did not comprise a collective bargaining unit and relocated employees within Raven Software to break up the group trying to unionize.

The QA team at Raven Software notably isn't the first group of staff at a gaming studio to unionize, with that distinction belonging to workers at Vodeo Games, who voted last year to unionize. However, Raven Software's success at a gaming titan like Activision-Blizzard could motivate workers to make similar pushes at other major companies. With the NLRB consistently appearing to side with workers over companies in procedural appeals and moving quickly to take legal action in many cases of reprisal against organizers, attempting to stymie unionization efforts will likely remain difficult for companies.

Activision-Blizzard shares continued a downward trend that began last week, sliding 1.5% through Monday and Tuesday. There doesn't seem to be much indication of a broader shareholder response to the union vote.