The Gathering Arena developers file to unionize with CWA

The developers behind Magic: The Gathering Arena are officially seeking to unionize. This marks the first known labor organizing effort within Wizards of the Coast, the publisher behind Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, which is a subsidiary of Hasbro.

A supermajority of workers have already signed cards in support of forming a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), according to an official announcement released Monday. The proposed bargaining unit includes more than 100 developers across roles like engineering, design, art, and production.

Workers are requesting voluntary recognition from Hasbro, meaning that if Hasbro formally recognizes the union, then it will officially form. But the group has also filed for a formal election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which they say they will withdraw if recognition is granted by May 1.

“We know the workers who make the game can and should be treated better, and our aim is to show that to the world through our union efforts,” reads a letter sent to management Monday morning, which outlines the issues that workers hope to address as a union. Those issues include protections over layoffs and remote work, guardrails over generative AI usage and mandatory crunch time, and increased transparency and equity in the workplace.

“At Wizards, we’re organizing for a say in layoffs, accountability that runs up and down the chain, and a living wage that actually lets people build a life,” Damien Wilson, a senior software development engineer on Arena, said in a statement. “This isn’t just something that affects Wizards of the Coast; it’s how most American workplaces are set up: investor profit above all, even if it hurts those behind the products we all know and love. Unions are the missing counterweight to protect our craft.”

Hasbro has carried out multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years, including cuts to roughly 1,100 jobs in December 2023 and 800 more earlier that year. More recently, in June 2025, Hasbro also laid off an additional 150 employees. Wizards of the Coast employees were specifically affected by workforce reductions in 2023 and 2024. Though not directly related to Magic Arena, 30 Wizards of the Coast staff were also laid off in March 2025 when the publisher ceased development on the Sigil virtual tabletop platform. Amidst apparent company-wide instability, Hasbro has repeatedly said in every quarterly earnings call in recent memory that Wizards of the Coast, and Magic: The Gathering specifically, continue to thrive.

Following a cyberattack in March, Hasbro pushed the first quarterly earnings report to May 20 but still released a preliminary Q1 2026 earning report that cited “growth behind continued strength in Magic: The Gathering.”

Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The companies have until May 1 to officially recognize the union. If they do not, then the NLRB will organize a secret ballot vote among all eligible workers who will then vote on whether to unionize. If the majority votes in favor, then the union becomes certified.