Double Fine Productions, known for the Psychonauts series and more recently Kiln, has filed a petition to unionize. The studio is currently owned by Microsoft, but on May 7, employees filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, making their intent to unionize clear. According to the filing, 42 employees work at the Microsoft-owned studio. That number includes all regular part-time and full-time employees.
The Union is being formed in conjunction with the Communication Workers of America. In 2025, the CWA helped establish an industry-wide union, United Video Game Workers. That particular union, which is a direct-join union, is for workers in the industry who have been laid off or aren’t employed at any specific studio. Now, Double Fine has become the latest Microsoft-owned studio to see its workers unionize.
Double Fine Becomes Latest Microsoft Studio to Unionize
In a statement released to Aftermath, which exclusively broke the news, the CWA touted the move as an effort to preserve and extend the studio’s commitments to, among other things, diversity and inclusion. They also thanked Microsoft for taking a neutral approach to the news and not interfering with workers’ rights to organize.
“On May 7, the workers at Microsoft studio Double Fine Productions announced their decision to form a union with CWA to preserve and extend the studio’s commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life,” the statement reads. “In tandem with requesting voluntary recognition from the company, workers have also filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to secure union representation. We appreciate that Microsoft has taken a neutral approach and agreed not to interfere in any way with workers’ rights to organize unions.”
The CWA is no stranger to Microsoft. In July of last year, they stated they were disappointed in the tech conglomerate’s decision to lay off thousands of workers at a time when the company was prospering. Read that full statement from July 2025 here.
Double Fine released Kiln, an online party brawler built around pottery, on April 23, 2026. Check out the full content roadmap for the game here.
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