Activision Blizzard accused of deadnaming transgender employees

Hearthstone players are unhappy with the pricing of card packs for the upcoming mercenaries mode.Blizzard has revealed a new Mercenaries mode is coming to Hearthstone. However, card packs containing Diablo, Sylvanas Windrunner, and the Lich King are listed at £45 ($50 USD), which has caused an outcry on social media.One user in r/Asmongold said, “Just when you thought Blizzard couldn’t go any lower: They create a Raid Shadow Legend clone for Hearthstone, and yes, you have to buy packs”.

Overwatch 2 may finally have a release window in sight, with reports that the hero shooter sequel could arrive in the second quarter of 2022.The timeline comes from a recent Dexerto report on the future of the competitive Overwatch League (OWL).

Activision Blizzard has announced a brand new Hearthstone Battlegrounds revamp for the game’s latest update.In a new blog post, the developer has shared information about the next Battlegrounds update for Hearthstone, saying it will be the biggest update to date.First up, the update will add a major minion shakeup, replacing 37 minions with brand new ones, which will possess a new ‘Avenge’ keyword skill. This will do “something after (x) after (x) friendly minions die”.

Blizzard’s classic RPG Diablo II has received many mods over its long lifetime, but the biggest, Median XL – Sigma, has recently been overhauled.The Meidan XL – Sigma mod has received a 2.0 version that changes nearly everything in Diablo 2 in small or large ways.

Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed that the upcoming World Of Warcraft update will remove developer names to “better reflect our shared values”.In a new tweet from the World Of Warcraft development team last night (August 27), Shadowlands update 9.1.5 will be going into the PTR next week and will introduce a bunch of changes to the game.“Over the past few weeks we shared an update, the WoW team has been focused on the immediate future – both for our players and workplace, and what’s next for

Activision Blizzard to include contracted workers.Read more: ‘Recompile’ review: a bite-sized but disappointing MetroidvaniaThe lawsuit, which was filed late last month, alleges Activision Blizzard employees face “constant sexual harassment, including groping, comments and advances” while at work.

Sledgehammer Games has said it may want to make other games, the studio has only developed games in the Call Of Duty franchise since its formation in 2009. Speaking to VentureBeat in a recent (August 18) interview, studio head Aaron Halon said: “We love our legacy and what we’ve created, but we also wanted to think about the future of the studio and how we could set ourselves up to be even stronger.”Sledgehammer Games has co-developed and took the lead on multiple titles in the franchise,

Diablo II: Resurrected open beta.The open beta begins simultaneously in all regions at 5 PM GMT August 20, which works out as 10 AM PDT, 1 PM EDT, 6 PM BST and 7 PM CEST.

Activision Blizzard, which includes Candy Crush developer King, are claiming that recruiters are telling them to stop talking about the company’s toxic culture.The claim appears to have come from Valentine Powell, a senior UI engineer for World Of Warcraft, who tweeted yesterday (August 17), “I’m seeing recruiters approaching ABK workers who are pushing for change, telling them to stop being so loud.

Blizzard Entertainment employees – two key Diablo IV figures and a World Of Warcraft designer – are no longer with the company.Diablo IV game director Luis Barriga and its lead level designer Jesse McCree, as well as World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft, have left the video game company, reports Kotaku.

Blizzard Entertainment‘s games has fallen from 46million players to 26million.As reported in GameRant, the drastic decline of players of Blizzard’s games – which include World Of Warcraft, Overwatch and Hearthstone – was revealed during Activision Blizzard‘s latest earnings call, with a chart shared on Reddit.The studio hits its peak in Q2 2021 with 46million monthly active users, a year following the launch of both Overwatch and WoW‘s Legion expansion.This figure has however continued falling

Activision Blizzard investment group spoke out against the company’s response to the lawsuit over alleged sexual harassment.In an exclusive letter from SOC executive director Dieter Waizenegger to Axios, the Activision Blizzard shareholder says that recent promises don’t go “nearly far enough to address the deep and widespread issues with equity, inclusion, and human capital management.”“No changes have been announced with respect to executive pay,” the letter adds.“Either with respect to

Overwatch League may be about to lose more sponsorships in the wake of a lawsuit alleging abuse and sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard.As reported in The Washington Post, Coca-Cola and State Farm are reassessing their partnerships with the Overwatch League.

Diablo Immortal has had its release date pushed back to 2022, following player feedback from a recent closed alpha test of the game.In a blog post, developer Blizzard Entertainment says “the game is now planned for release in the first half of 2022, which will allow us to add substantial improvements to the whole game”.Blizzard added that it “has been tuning core and endgame features”, with an emphasis on iterating and improving PvP content “to make it more accessible”, as well as fine-tuning

Blizzard Entertainment following the ongoing lawsuit and allegations on abuse and sexual harassment that has rocked the company in recent weeks.As reported in Bloomberg, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson has confirmed that Jesse Meschuk, formerly Blizzard’s senior vice president of HR, is “no longer with the company”.Meschuk was the most senior figure in Blizzard’s HR, which allegedly worked to cover up abuses.

Activision Blizzard is being sued by an investor for allegedly hiding the severity of an investigation into sexual harassment, which led to a lawsuit from the state of California.An Activision Blizzard investor has filed a federal securities fraud claim against the company, stating shareholders were “economically damaged” after Activision Blizzard reportedly downplayed and buried California’s investigation into sexual harassment from investors.The suit, noted by Bloomberg Law, alleges that

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick addressed the company’s ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit and action surrounding further allegations.Speaking to investors during a second-quarter 2021 financial results call yesterday (August 3), Kotick has stated “people will be held accountable for their actions” regarding allegations of sexual harassment and a “frat boy culture” at Activision Blizzard.Regarding recent commitments to change, Kotick said:“That commitment means that we will not just

Activision Blizzard appears to have lost a major sponsor for Call of Duty esports league, with T-Mobile vanishing from recent competitive events.READ MORE: The unstoppable rise of the UK’s favourite homegrown ‘Call of Duty: Warzone’ player, JukeyzReferences to T-Mobile, which was the company’s largest non-gaming sponsor, seemed to have disappeared during the recent Stage 5 Majors competition (as spotted by Dexerto).The T-Mobile logo appears to have been obscured on competing players’ uniforms,

Blizzard Entertainment president J. Allen Brack is stepping down from his role, following a lawsuit served to the company alleging widespread sexual harassment.The announcement comes from Blizzard itself, saying in a statement that Brack will be “stepping down” to be replaced by a leadership team of Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra.“To all members of the Blizzard Community,” the statement read.

Activision Blizzard faces a lawsuit after accusations from employees that they’ve faced “constant sexual harassment, including groping, comments, and advances” in the workplace, a former senior employee has written an open letter calling for industry-wide unionization.Shared via IGN, Jeff Strain’s ‘It’s Time’ letter starts with Strain saying how “the Activision Blizzard disclosures this week have left me disgusted and repulsed — but not at all surprised.”Having joined Blizzard Entertainment in