The workers of the QA team, who work on Bethesda titles like the Fallout series or Elder Scrolls Online, are fed up. They have waited too long for progress in negotiations for better working conditions, unfortunately not to their satisfaction.
What is the conflict about? Over 300 testers of the QA team, who are responsible for quality assurance of various games such as the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls, are taking the next step. They have voted for a strike, as negotiations for fairer compensation with Microsoft have stalled. This strike has not yet come into effect, but it could be initiated at any time.
A senior QA tester commented in a press release on the situation: “None of us want it to come to this, but if Microsoft and ZeniMax continue to demonstrate at the negotiating table that they are not willing to pay us fair wages for the value our work brings to our games, we will show them how valuable our work is.”
A strike as a last resort
What is motivating the testers to take this action? The union of Bethesda’s quality assurance has been negotiating for better working conditions for two years. The main concerns include better salaries, improvements on-site, and better arrangements for working from home. (via PC Gamer)
“Underpayment and expensive return-to-office initiatives have made many of us put our lives on hold because our income can’t keep up with the rising cost of living in the cities where ZeniMax insists we live and work to keep our jobs,” explains a senior QA tester in the press release.
What is the reaction in the community? In the Elder Scrolls Online subreddit, the players’ response to the situation is quite unanimous:
- THEWIDOWS0N says: “I believe that these companies can only be made to pay a fair share if they are forced to.”
- SailorEsmeraude comments: “I really hope the strike goes well.”
- patiperro_v3 says: “Good luck to the workers. This is Microsoft for crying out loud, not a small shop on the corner, they can afford to pay sick leave. It’s ridiculous that a strike is even necessary.”
Despite the tense situation, The Elder Scrolls Online remains one of the best MMORPGs on Steam, currently ranking 5th out of a total of 10 on our list for February 2025. If you enjoy MMORPGs and are looking for more inspiration, you can check out this list here on MeinMMO: The 10 Best Rated MMORPGs on Steam in April 2025
