Update 4/7 12:43 pm PT: New details about Activision Blizzard's plans for converting QA testers to full-time employees have emerged. In a statement to Bloomberg, the Raven employees who formed a union earlier this year will not receive new pay bumps "due to legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act."

The CWA responded to Activision's claims calling the move "galling" that "Activision has excluded Raven Software QA workers, who have been at the forefront of this effort, from these benefits." Activision responded to Kotaku by citing Labor Board v. Exchange Parts Co., 375 U.S. 405 (1964) which states employers could violate the National Labor Relations Act if they confer economic benefits on its employees for the purpose of inducing them to vote against the union.

Original Story: Activision Blizzard has announced that it will be converting nearly 1,100 US-based temporary and contingent QA workers to full-time positions.

The company says that the change will increase Activision Publishing’s total full-time staff by 25%, following a recent conversion of nearly 500 contractors to full-time employees. However, some dozen QA team members at Raven Software were not part of this transition, leading to a walkout at the studio.

Along with the move to full-time, QA workers will have their hourly rate increased to $20 per hour, and be able to partake in the company’s bonus plan and have access to full-time benefits.

Activision Publishing COO Josh Taub and head of Blizzard Mike Ybarra both sent emails to staff today announcing the change. Both cite the need to support ongoing and live games as a reason for the change.

“During the last two years, Call of Duty has expanded and evolved. Our development cycles have gone from an annual release to an “always on” model,” says Taub. “In response to greater engagement, we’ve increased our live services business across all platforms… In light of these changes, and as we look to our ambitious plans for the future, we are further refining how our development teams work together.”

In a separate email, Ybarra told Blizzard staff “Our ability to deliver great games at the “Blizzard quality” level our players expect is vital to ensuring we exceed player expectations. Over the last 6 months, I’ve had the opportunity to listen and engage with members of our QA team and we’ve had several meetings where I outlined my philosophy about contract/full-time roles.”

The move follows growing unionization efforts across Activision Blizzard, first with the ABetterABK Workers Alliance, a workers’ collective that has organized various walkouts across the company in support of better working conditions. The Raven QA employees also formed Blizzard’s very first union earlier this year.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Activision Blizzard has announced that it will be converting nearly 1,100 US-based temporary and contingent QA workers to full-time positions.

The company says that the change will increase Activision Publishing’s total full-time staff by 25%, following a recent conversion of nearly 500 contractors to full-time employees. However, some dozen QA team members at Raven Software were not part of this transition, leading to a walkout at the studio.

Along with the move to full-time, QA workers will have their hourly rate increased to $20 per hour, and be able to partake in the company’s bonus plan and have access to full-time benefits.

Activision Publishing COO Josh Taub and head of Blizzard Mike Ybarra both sent emails to staff today announcing the change. Both cite the need to support ongoing and live games as a reason for the change.

“During the last two years, Call of Duty has expanded and evolved. Our development cycles have gone from an annual release to an “always on” model,” says Taub. “In response to greater engagement, we’ve increased our live services business across all platforms… In light of these changes, and as we look to our ambitious plans for the future, we are further refining how our development teams work together.”

In a separate email, Ybarra told Blizzard staff “Our ability to deliver great games at the “Blizzard quality” level our players expect is vital to ensuring we exceed player expectations. Over the last 6 months, I’ve had the opportunity to listen and engage with members of our QA team and we’ve had several meetings where I outlined my philosophy about contract/full-time roles.”

The move follows growing unionization efforts across Activision Blizzard, first with the ABetterABK Workers Alliance, a workers’ collective that has organized various walkouts across the company in support of better working conditions. The Raven QA employees also formed Blizzard’s very first union earlier this year.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Spider-Man director Sam Raimi really wants to work with Tobey Maguire again.

During an interview with Fandango, Raimi hinted that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man could return after his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home… but there aren’t any plans.

“I've come to realize after making Doctor Strange that anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe, any team-ups,” he said. “I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think all things are possible.”

Of course, Raimi recently returned to the Marvel fold with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – a Doctor Strange sequel that seemingly jumps off from the events in No Way Home.

But whether or not Tobey Maguire will return? It looks as though there are no immediate plans.

“I don't really have a story or a plan,” he said. “I don't know if Marvel would be interested in that right now. I don't know what their thoughts are about that. I haven't really pursued that. But it sounds beautiful. Even if it wasn't a Spider-Man movie, I'd love to work with Tobey again, in a different role.”

Tobey Maguire recently suited up as Spider-Man once again in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw the classic Spidey team up with his current MCU counterpart (Tom Holland) alongside Amazing Spider-Man star, Andrew Garfield.

They even made a version of the classic viral meme for fans to enjoy.

Whether or not Maguire returns to the role remains to be seen but considering the huge fan reaction to the Spider-Men team-up, there could still be room for a more mature Peter Parker.

Meanwhile, a new trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has given us a creepy glimpse of Zombie Doctor Strange, and Bruce Campbell might even appear as an alternate version of the former Sorcerer Supreme.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. They’re joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Xochitl Gomez.

Sam Raimi directed the movie from a script by Michael Waldron, based on characters created by comic book legends, Steve Ditko, and Stan Lee.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Spider-Man director Sam Raimi really wants to work with Tobey Maguire again.

During an interview with Fandango, Raimi hinted that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man could return after his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home… but there aren’t any plans.

“I've come to realize after making Doctor Strange that anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe, any team-ups,” he said. “I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think all things are possible.”

Of course, Raimi recently returned to the Marvel fold with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – a Doctor Strange sequel that seemingly jumps off from the events in No Way Home.

But whether or not Tobey Maguire will return? It looks as though there are no immediate plans.

“I don't really have a story or a plan,” he said. “I don't know if Marvel would be interested in that right now. I don't know what their thoughts are about that. I haven't really pursued that. But it sounds beautiful. Even if it wasn't a Spider-Man movie, I'd love to work with Tobey again, in a different role.”

Tobey Maguire recently suited up as Spider-Man once again in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw the classic Spidey team up with his current MCU counterpart (Tom Holland) alongside Amazing Spider-Man star, Andrew Garfield.

They even made a version of the classic viral meme for fans to enjoy.

Whether or not Maguire returns to the role remains to be seen but considering the huge fan reaction to the Spider-Men team-up, there could still be room for a more mature Peter Parker.

Meanwhile, a new trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has given us a creepy glimpse of Zombie Doctor Strange, and Bruce Campbell might even appear as an alternate version of the former Sorcerer Supreme.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. They’re joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Xochitl Gomez.

Sam Raimi directed the movie from a script by Michael Waldron, based on characters created by comic book legends, Steve Ditko, and Stan Lee.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director Sam Raimi has weighed in on whether Scarlet Witch is more powerful than the MCU's current Sorcerer Supreme or vice versa.

In an interview with Fandango, Raimi was quizzed on who he would consider to be the stronger of the two magic-wielders, Doctor Strange or Wanda Maximoff. He considered each character's skills and talents before admitting that there could be different scenarios where one would triumph over the other, depending on which version of themselves is present.

"That's a question I've been asking kids on the playground since third grade. Who is stronger, this character or that character?" he joked. "I think Wanda's magic, from Marvel lore, is more powerful than almost any of the other characters in this picture, but Doctor Strange has the knowledge of the mystic arts that Wanda doesn't have, and he's got the help of Kamar-Taj.

"If you were to pit them against each other, different altered versions of themselves..." Raimi said, contemplating his answer. "There could be a Doctor Strange out there that's more powerful than our Wanda. Or there could be a Wanda out there who is more powerful than our Wanda here. So, because of these altered versions, it's all a mixed bag of possibilities."

We may get to see one of these scenarios, or even both, play out on the big screen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the sequel's titular sorcerer is set to traverse the "mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary" and push the boundaries of the Multiverse further than ever before.

With the Multiverse cracked wide open, Strange is likely to encounter several villains throughout his multiversal travels but no one is quite sure who the main antagonist will be. When Raimi was asked who he considered to be the main villain in Multiverse of Madness' rogue roster, he admitted that multiple characters could fit into that category.

"There's iterations of our characters throughout the multiverse," Raimi explained before teasing some of the possibilities that could be seen in the sequel. "So, if I were to say Strange ... I'm not really supposed to answer this question, but I might be saying altered Strange. Same with Wanda and Mordo. But I would say, at different times, all of the above."

Fans have been speculating whether everyone from Deadpool to a Bruce Campbell cameo will appear in the movie, with the latter possibly playing an alternate version of Doctor Strange himself. This would certainly fit with the recent direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has seen both Spider-Man and Loki team up with variants from across the multiverse.

Doctor Strange 2 is out in theaters on May 6, which is when Xochitl Gomez will make her MCU debut as America Chavez. She'll be joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo, Rachel McAdams' Christine Palmer, Elizabeth Olson's Wanda Maximoff, and Benedict Wong's Wong. There's also the small matter of Patrick Stewart appearing in the movie, seemingly as Professor X.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director Sam Raimi has weighed in on whether Scarlet Witch is more powerful than the MCU's current Sorcerer Supreme or vice versa.

In an interview with Fandango, Raimi was quizzed on who he would consider to be the stronger of the two magic-wielders, Doctor Strange or Wanda Maximoff. He considered each character's skills and talents before admitting that there could be different scenarios where one would triumph over the other, depending on which version of themselves is present.

"That's a question I've been asking kids on the playground since third grade. Who is stronger, this character or that character?" he joked. "I think Wanda's magic, from Marvel lore, is more powerful than almost any of the other characters in this picture, but Doctor Strange has the knowledge of the mystic arts that Wanda doesn't have, and he's got the help of Kamar-Taj.

"If you were to pit them against each other, different altered versions of themselves..." Raimi said, contemplating his answer. "There could be a Doctor Strange out there that's more powerful than our Wanda. Or there could be a Wanda out there who is more powerful than our Wanda here. So, because of these altered versions, it's all a mixed bag of possibilities."

We may get to see one of these scenarios, or even both, play out on the big screen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the sequel's titular sorcerer is set to traverse the "mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary" and push the boundaries of the Multiverse further than ever before.

With the Multiverse cracked wide open, Strange is likely to encounter several villains throughout his multiversal travels but no one is quite sure who the main antagonist will be. When Raimi was asked who he considered to be the main villain in Multiverse of Madness' rogue roster, he admitted that multiple characters could fit into that category.

"There's iterations of our characters throughout the multiverse," Raimi explained before teasing some of the possibilities that could be seen in the sequel. "So, if I were to say Strange ... I'm not really supposed to answer this question, but I might be saying altered Strange. Same with Wanda and Mordo. But I would say, at different times, all of the above."

Fans have been speculating whether everyone from Deadpool to a Bruce Campbell cameo will appear in the movie, with the latter possibly playing an alternate version of Doctor Strange himself. This would certainly fit with the recent direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has seen both Spider-Man and Loki team up with variants from across the multiverse.

Doctor Strange 2 is out in theaters on May 6, which is when Xochitl Gomez will make her MCU debut as America Chavez. She'll be joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo, Rachel McAdams' Christine Palmer, Elizabeth Olson's Wanda Maximoff, and Benedict Wong's Wong. There's also the small matter of Patrick Stewart appearing in the movie, seemingly as Professor X.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Developer Cellar Door Games has announced that Rogue Legacy 2, the roguelite sequel to the original 2013 game, will be leaving Early Access and officially launching on April 28. To mark the occasion, the developer is making the original game available for free right now on the Epic Games Store.

"Our goal for Rogue Legacy 2 was always to make 'Rogue Legacy 3', because we didn’t want to settle for just more," Cellar Door said. "It had to stay true to the original, but also stand on its own as something new. After nearly four years of development, bringing it to the fans is the final step in this long journey, and we hope they find it as special as we do."

The sequel features a new 2.5D art style, weapons, classes, abilities, and biome options. You can also use the new Heirlooms to permanently earn new abilities. Additional accessibility options are also promised.

Don't miss IGN's glowing review of the original Rogue Legacy.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Developer Cellar Door Games has announced that Rogue Legacy 2, the roguelite sequel to the original 2013 game, will be leaving Early Access and officially launching on April 28. To mark the occasion, the developer is making the original game available for free right now on the Epic Games Store.

"Our goal for Rogue Legacy 2 was always to make 'Rogue Legacy 3', because we didn’t want to settle for just more," Cellar Door said. "It had to stay true to the original, but also stand on its own as something new. After nearly four years of development, bringing it to the fans is the final step in this long journey, and we hope they find it as special as we do."

The sequel features a new 2.5D art style, weapons, classes, abilities, and biome options. You can also use the new Heirlooms to permanently earn new abilities. Additional accessibility options are also promised.

Don't miss IGN's glowing review of the original Rogue Legacy.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Editor's Note: The war in Ukraine is an ongoing, painful and emotive topic. IGN urges community members to be respectful when engaging in conversation around this subject and does not endorse harassment of any kind.

Blizzard has quietly removed the Z symbol from skins in Overwatch following the icon's use during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Zarya, a Russian character, previously featured the letter Z on her Arctic and Siberian Front skins but these were removed in the latest Anniversary Remix update, as reported by Polygon.

The Z symbol has been used in Russian propaganda to show support for the country's invasion of Ukraine, appearing on tanks and other vehicles before entering mass media at the beginning of March.

Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak is being investigated by The International Gymnastics Federation for wearing a Z on his chest while competing in Qatar while a group of terminally ill children were encouraged to pose in the shape of a Z to show support for Russia's invasion.

The changes to Zarya's skins were not included in the latest patch notes for Overwatch but instead noticed by eagle-eyed fans on the game's subreddit.

Activision Blizzard has suspended sales of and within its games in Russia while the conflict continues, and is matching employee donations 2:1 to "organisations providing immediate relief in the region." When it made the announcement on March, the company had already raised $300,000 in support of Ukraine.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Editor's Note: The war in Ukraine is an ongoing, painful and emotive topic. IGN urges community members to be respectful when engaging in conversation around this subject and does not endorse harassment of any kind.

Blizzard has quietly removed the Z symbol from skins in Overwatch following the icon's use during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Zarya, a Russian character, previously featured the letter Z on her Arctic and Siberian Front skins but these were removed in the latest Anniversary Remix update, as reported by Polygon.

The Z symbol has been used in Russian propaganda to show support for the country's invasion of Ukraine, appearing on tanks and other vehicles before entering mass media at the beginning of March.

Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak is being investigated by The International Gymnastics Federation for wearing a Z on his chest while competing in Qatar while a group of terminally ill children were encouraged to pose in the shape of a Z to show support for Russia's invasion.

The changes to Zarya's skins were not included in the latest patch notes for Overwatch but instead noticed by eagle-eyed fans on the game's subreddit.

Activision Blizzard has suspended sales of and within its games in Russia while the conflict continues, and is matching employee donations 2:1 to "organisations providing immediate relief in the region." When it made the announcement on March, the company had already raised $300,000 in support of Ukraine.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.