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All of Key phrases Studios’ unionized QA staff had been laid off from the studio in late September after Dragon Age: Dreadwolf developer BioWare declined to proceed its contract in August.
The QA staff, who had been contracted to help with playtesting and high quality assurance at BioWare Edmonton, received their union vote in June 2022. All 16 eligible voters stated “sure” to becoming a member of United Meals and Industrial Employees Canada Union, Native No. 401. It was a historic vote, making the group the primary video games trade union in Canada. Key phrases Studios staff had been in bargaining with the corporate after they had been laid off following the information of fifty job cuts at BioWare itself.
A UFCW consultant advised Polygon that 13 folks had been laid off — everybody supporting BioWare. Liz Corless, Key phrases Studios’ international head of selling, confirmed that 13 Edmonton-based QA staff had been laid off.
“We are able to affirm that regrettably the 13 Edmonton-based workers have now left the enterprise following the top of a hard and fast time period consumer contract,” Corless wrote in an e-mail.
The team of workers had been laid off on Sept. 27. Russwurm added that Key phrases Studios has “taken the place there isn’t a extra work out there.” (Key phrases Studios has a number of QA job postings listed on its web site, in Canada and internationally. Many, however not all of those listings, are associated to language localization and require specialties that the laid-off staff might not have.)
Russwurm stated the union filed an employment requirements grievance in opposition to Key phrases Studios this week. He added that Key phrases Studios supplied “minimal severance,” which the union is disputing. Severance has not but been paid out, he stated. (A number of BioWare staff laid off at the moment are at the moment suing the corporate for “enough severance.” These are two separate points with two separate firms, nevertheless, regardless of being linked to Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.)
Although the unionized QA staff didn’t but have a contract with Key phrases Studios, they will try to barter higher severance pay.
Key phrases Studios is headquartered in Eire however has greater than 20 worldwide places of work. The studio was based in 1998, and doesn’t publish or develop its personal video games — as a substitute, it gives artwork, QA, audio, and different growth help for different studios, like BioWare.
Correction: This story has been up to date to accurately attribute a quote.
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