The move comes as parent company Microsoft continues to shed its gaming divisions.
Crushed candy Developer King has signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to cover its Swedish employees. The Microsoft-owned company signed the agreement with Unionen and Engineers of Swedish on Thursday. This comes just one day before the planned workers’ strike and two days after the latest round of layoffs at Xbox. The agreement comes into force on April 1, 2027.
Negotiations had been underway since May 2025. According to Kotakuthe sudden abolition of private doctors’ benefits in 2024 has led employees to form a union club and discuss how they could have more say over their conditions. The long process finally resulted in a strike notice on September 15, followed by mediation.
Before this week’s deal, King said he would not enter into a CBA. It argued that its existing benefits were already better for employees and that its restructuring under the collective bargaining agreement could hurt workers. Similar messages have been used against the organization of companies like Apple, Amazon and Activision Blizzard. King’s management reportedly described its existing model as “the right solution.”
Unions say the agreement gives King employees more influence over their working conditions and allows them to be informed about changes that affect their jobs, including reorganizations. While the deal won’t prevent layoffs — which should be a major concern for all Microsoft gaming workers right now — it gives staff more formal influence.
The agreement also brings King closer to Swedish standards. Swedish engineers say almost nine out of ten employees in the country already enjoy basic job security through collective agreements.
“This is an important step for King, the video game industry and for the Swedish model,” Camilla Frankelius, head of negotiations at Engineers of Swedish, wrote in a press release. “We hope for good cooperation with the company in the future and that employees benefit from the basic job security that almost nine out of ten employees in Sweden enjoy through collective agreements.”
