The group of QA developers seeking to form a union at Call of Duty studio Raven Software and management at parent company Activision Blizzard could not come to terms. The developers are now planning to petition the National Labor Relations Board in the US for approval.

“We, the supermajority of workers at Raven QA, are proud to be confidently filing our petition with the NLRB for our union election,” the Game Workers Alliance group said on Twitter. “We are deeply disappointed that Raven Software and Activision Blizzard refused to uplift workers rights by choosing to not voluntarily recognize our union in spite of our supermajority support.”

“This was an opportunity for Activision Blizzard to show a real commitment setting new and improved standards for workers. Instead, Activision Blizzard has chosen to make a rushed restructuring announcement to try and hinder our right to organize. Once again, when management is given a choice, they always seem to take the low road,” the group added. “However, we are proud to file with the NLRB as we enjoy supermajority support for our union and know that together, we will gain the formal legal recognition we have earned.”

For its part, Activision Blizzard said in a statement to GameSpot, “We deeply respect the rights of all employees to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union. We carefully reviewed and considered the CWA initial request last week and tried to find a mutually acceptable solution with the CWA that would have led to an expedited election process. Unfortunately, the parties could not reach an agreement.”

A spokesperson for Activision Blizzard went on to say that it understands the union group will file a petition with the NLRB, and if that happens, the publisher said it will “respond formally to that petition promptly.”

“The most important thing to the company is that each eligible employee has the opportunity to have their voice heard and their individual vote counted, and we think all employees at Raven should have a say in this decision,” Activision Blizzard said.

The publisher also offered some background on the changes it’s made at Raven Software in the past couple of years. This includes raising minimum compensation for QA staff by 41%, extending paid time off, and giving workers and their significant others additional medical benefits. Additionally, more than 60% of temporary QA staff at Raven was recently converted to full-time, Activision Blizzard said.

QA developers at Raven went on strike in early December in protest of job cuts. This move was part of a wider restructuring, Activision Blizzard management said at the time.

“Activision Publishing is growing its overall investment in its development and operations resources,” a spokesperson said. “We are converting approximately 500 temporary workers to full-time employees in the coming months. Unfortunately, as part of this change, we also have notified 20 temporary workers across studios that their contracts would not be extended.”

The strike ended this week. A group of about three-dozen QA staff at Raven are now pushing to form a worker’s union. The union, the Game Workers Alliance, is calling for transparency from management regarding decisions that will affect the working lives of employees and for managers to work towards “realistic timelines and development plans” to help avoid “crunch.” This is the industry term for extended periods of overtime.”Crunch is not healthy for any product, worker, or company,” the group said.

The organization added that quality assurance testers at Raven “deserve respect, appropriate compensation, and career development opportunities.”

“Quality Assurance is currently an undervalued discipline in the games and software industries. We strive to foster work environments where Quality Assurance Testers are respected and compensated for our essential role in the development process,” the group said.

The Game Workers Alliance also holds a principle focused around diversity. “All voices deserve to be heard. Empowering underrepresented voices is key to fostering a truly creative and successful work environment,” it said.

Activision Blizzard management responded to the announcement of the union by saying in a statement, “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.”

Raven also recently announced organizational changes to its development structure. Raven’s QA developers will now work directly with other teams such as animation, art, design, audio, production, and engineering. Activision’s full statement is below.

“Today, Raven Software shared an organizational update that continues the work the studio began in November which will transition Quality Assurance teams to work directly alongside Animation, Art, Design, Audio, Production and Engineering teams within Raven. This change will enhance the collaborative work our teams do to support our games and players and make the opportunities for our talented QA staff even stronger.

“This is the next step in a process that has been carefully considered and in the works for some time, and this structure brings Raven into alignment with the best practices of other prominent Activision studios. It is also a milestone in our broader plan to integrate QA more into the development process as our teams strive to deliver best in class coordination in real-time, live service operations.”

The trade group CWA reacted to Raven’s organization shift, saying it is “nothing more than a tactic to thwart Raven QA workers who are exercising their right to organize.” Activision has more than 10,000 employees worldwide, with the proposed union covering about three-dozen.

Another factor at play here is that Raven Software, along with every other Activision Blizzard studio and franchise, is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft. Just how Microsoft’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard might affect unionization efforts and the future of the Call of Duty series remains to be seen. For what it’s worth, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said the Call of Duty series will continue to be published on PlayStation, similar to how Microsoft’s Minecraft series is released on competing platforms.

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Microsoft reported earnings on Tuesday, announcing that its Xbox division posted revenue of $16.28 billion for the calendar year 2021. It was Xbox’s best year of all time based on revenue.

The positive momentum comes after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax/Bethesda, and the company’s fortunes are poised to presumably grow even stronger with its proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard.

Gaming revenue overall rose for Xbox, including hardware and software. Revenue from content and services during the year rose 8.8% to $12.6 billion, thanks in part to growth in Game Pass (which now has 25 million subscribers) and first-party game sales (Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite were two of Microsoft’s biggest 2021 games).

Third-party game sales slid, however, which impacted results, Microsoft said. Check out more stats from analyst Daniel Ahmad’s recap of Microsoft’s earnings report below.

As mentioned, Microsoft’s Xbox division is set to grow much larger if the company’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard goes through. Should that happen, Microsoft will own and operate juggernauts like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Candy Crush, among others.

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Wordle has taken over the internet in a way no one saw coming. When the new year arrived, suddenly everyone was playing Wordle daily, doing their best to think up the best first words in Wordle that may hold the key to each day’s success. We too have caught the Wordle bug, and it’s led us to try and think of new words and Wordle strategies that may help keep those streaks alive and that winning percentage pristine. With that in mind, here are what we consider to be the best starting words for Wordle, along with some key strategies from some of our avid players on staff.

Wordle: best words to start with

If you prefer a list of the best first words for Wordle, we recommend starting any given day with these. If you’d rather hear directly from some of our Wordle-obsessed editors, be sure to check out their more specific strategies below. The key is often to quickly find vowels or common consonants that belong in each day’s word. From that starting point, we’ve identified these words as some of the very best first words for Wordle:

ReactAdieuSiredTearsAloneAriseAboutAtoneIrateSnareCreamPaintWorseSauceAnimeProwlRoastDrapeMedia

My go-to strategy with Wordle is two-pronged: Concentrate on the vowels and then narrow it down with the most common consonants. I’ll start with a vowel-heavy word like ADIEU, which usually identifies at least one letter (two if I’m lucky). Based on that first try, I’ll then try and find a word that incorporates consonants like T, S, and R on the second line, and if I’m feeling particularly smart, I’ll try and fit in the vowel O somewhere as well. This strategy usually leads me to a solution by line 4 (85% of my wins in the last two weeks have been at 4), although it has led me astray once (damn you TIGER). — Randy Ramsay

I’ve loved word games for just about as long as I’ve been able to string words together, so a lot of what I pull from when I strategize in Wordle is the undisputed classic among them: Scrabble. Scrabble assigns point values to letters based on how commonly they appear in the English language, with the lowest-scoring letters being the most popular. If, like me, you’ve invested far too much time into that game, try to think of which letters have the lowest value and make sure you can squeeze ‘em in your first guess. I tend to find “ATONE” and “IRATE” are good first tries–you manage to check the puzzle for three vowels and a couple of commonly used letters in locations they typically appear in. Another tip: think in pairs as you continue. If you know an “h” is the second letter, try getting both an “s” and a “c” in your next guess, since they commonly go in front of “h.” — Jessica Howard

The premise is simple, and that’s helped make Wordle a viral sensation.

When I first started playing Wordle, I was all over the place. I would repeatedly try letters I knew weren’t there, and it took me a solid week to remember that letters could be repeated (seriously, Wordle needs some kind of indicator for repeated letters). As a seasoned player going on three weeks now, I’ve finally got my strategy. I start with ARISE, a solid word that knocks out three vowels and two common consonants. I aim to get vowels placed as quickly as possible because for some reason my brain can work around those foundations easier than consonants. I don’t understand why either, but since I’ve implemented that strategy, I typically guess the word in three or four goes and haven’t missed a single one. — Lucy James

My advice is at odds with what you’d probably expect: Don’t stress too much about it. I’m eager to guess the day’s word in as few tries as possible, but I’m mindful of not turning Wordle into a chore by trying to min/max my way to that goal. While I do try to think of words with vowels and more common letters (I stay away from X, Z, and Q), I try a different word every day and just go with the flow. I initially lamented that Wordle doesn’t let you go back and replay old puzzles, but I’ve quickly grown fond of its one-per-day-and-that’s-it structure. Over-aggressive tweeting from fellow players aside, it’s remained a relaxing treat by not taking it too seriously or worrying about using the perfect word right from the get-go. — Chris Pereira

My approach to Wordle, and many of life’s big challenges, started by looking to a group of people that I have often sought guidance and advice from, and believe to be enlightened thinkers that are unmatched by any other scholars. As expected, they gave me exactly what I was looking for: a versatile starting word that, thus far, has yielded excellent results. Of course, I am talking about the legendary Staten Island-based hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and, naturally, the word I always begin with is C.R.E.A.M. As we all know, track eight on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) posits that “cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dollar dollar bill y’all.” Time has proven this adage correct, but within the context of Wordle, CREAM also gets the solution. Dollar, dollar bills y’all. –Tamoor Hussain

If all else fails and you think your current strategy just doesn’t work no matter what, you could always go the route of this devoted player:

Good luck with your next puzzle, fellow Wordle nerds!

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Blizzard has announced it’s working on a new survival game for PC and consoles in what looks to be a brand-new universe. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know at this point, along with a look at some concept art for the project.

“Blizzard is embarking on our next quest,” a Blizzard blog post reads. “We are going on a journey to a whole new universe, home to a brand-new survival game for PC and console. A place full of heroes we have yet to meet, stories yet to be told, and adventures yet to be lived. A vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored.”

The announcement largely serves as a recruitment ad for the project. Blizzard is looking to fill a number of positions for the game, including level designer, lead software engineer, senior character artist, and more.

Concept art for Blizzard’s new survival game, which is still untitled

“Every story needs a teller,” the blog post continues. “And every world needs builders. What if that could be you? For thirty years, Blizzard has been creating universes for millions of players around the globe. This requires a diverse team of developers willing to lend their voices, to listen and to be heard. That is our mission.”

This new survival game will Blizzard’s first new IP since Overwatch in 2016. The announcement of the survival game comes in the wake of Microsoft beginning the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard in a $69 billion deal. Considering Activision Blizzard is in the process of becoming part of Microsoft, it’s unclear if this new game will come to PlayStation or Nintendo Switch, or if it will be an Xbox console exclusive.

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The popular battle royale game PUBG recently changed business models and became a free-to-play game. That switch proved to be very successful, with developer Krafton announcing today that the game saw a 486% increase in new players in the week after the switch to free-to-play.

That outpaces the player growth rate from back when PUBG initially launched in 2017. Krafton also announced that the growth rate for new players was higher, at 537%, in places like the Commonwealth of Independent States, Southeast Asia, and South America.

At its peak, PUBG reached 690,000 total “active” players on Steam as part of the transition, Krafton said. Not only are more people playing PUBG now following the business model switch, but the average playtime jumped by more than 100% on PC and console compared to the week before the change. And for PlayStation specifically, PUBG saw a 400% increase in average playtime, Krafton said.

Krafton went on to say that PUBG’s various tutorials were the most-played content during the F2P transition, while the Taego and the Erangel maps have been the most-played since January 12.

To celebrate these achievements, Krafton is giving away special in-game rewards for people who play PUBG for at least one hour between 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET on January 27 and 3:59 PM PT / 6:59 PM ET on January 30. People who log in between now and February 17 will get the Orbital Vanguard skins.

Prior to the F2P switch, PUBG sold more than 75 million copies across PC and console. The game’s universe continues to grow with the mobile game New State Mobile and a spin-off called The Callisto Protocol from Dead Space and Call of Duty veteran Glen Schofield’s new studio.

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