Nearly 1,100 U.S.-based temporary and contingent quality assurance workers at Activision Publishing and Blizzard will become full-time employees, effective July 1, Activision Blizzard announced Thursday. The embattled video game publisher, which announced a pending acquisition by Microsoft in January in a historic $68.7 billion deal, also plans to bump up the minimum hourly rate for QA staff to $20 beginning April 17.
The change, which comes with full benefits and access to the company’s bonus program, will increase Activision Publishing’s total full-time staff by 25 percent. It follows the conversion of another 500 temporary and contingent employees to full-time roles at the studio last year.
Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra said the decision to restructure came after six months of dialogue with members of the QA team.
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