Activision Blizzard continues to lay off employees on charges of misconduct

As of July, 37 Activision Blizzard employees have been fired or expelled, and another 44 have been disciplined as the company tries to respond to allegations of harassment and misconduct, a spokesman said. The Wall Street Journal. It’s October in the company He said more than 20 people left, and at least 20 more were disciplined.

According to the report, the publisher of the game was supposed to publicly share a summary of that information before the holidays. However, CEO Bobby Kotick reportedly gave up on it out of concern that Activision’s troubles would seem even worse.

A spokesman denied “allegations about Mr. Kotick”, as well as claims that employees have filed about 700 allegations of misconduct and other problems since July, when Activision filed. sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The agency claimed the company nurtured a “frat boy” culture in which discrimination and sexual harassment were widespread.

Former Blizzard President J. Allen Brack, who is accused in a DFEH lawsuit of taking “no effective corrective action” to alleviate sexual harassment, left the company shortly after submission. Activision Blizzard CEO Jesse Meschuk has left, as well Diablo 4 play director Luis Barriga, chief designer Jesse McCree (according to whom an Overwatch character was previously appointed) i World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft.

In November, WSJ reported it Kotick has known for years about many of the worst cases of abuse and may have protected some employees who were accused of harassment. Many Activision Blizzard employees organized the departure after the report and about 2,000 signed a petition urging him to step down. The management of Activision issued a statement of support for Kotick.

Together with employees, treasurers and investors (the share price has fallen by almost 30% since July) have expressed concern over problematic issues. Several Activision Blizzard partners have condemned the company or reevaluated their relationship with it.

PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo leaders criticized the company in notes to their employees. Xbox boss Phil Spencer He said last week that Microsoft “changed the way we do certain things with” Activision, but didn’t share the details. Also this month, Lego delayed an Overwatch 2 a set that was due to arrive in February as it evaluates its partnership with Activision Blizzard.