Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick tells investors “people will be held accountable for their actions”

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.

Activision Blizzard over alleged sexual harassment, a new report claims that the company has been deadnaming transgender quality assurance (QA) staff.The report, from Kotaku, states that the company will “almost always default to legal names,” a QA tester at a contract QA studio claimed.

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.

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

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Sigrid has spoken about the need to ensure that festival line-ups are as equal in terms of gender splits as possible, saying “everyone needs to be held accountable”.The Norwegian pop star is the latest artist to be featured in NME’s Big Read digital cover story, following the release of her latest single ‘Mirror’ earlier this year.Sigrid is set to perform at this year’s Reading & Leeds festivals this month, the line-ups for which have become an annual subject of criticism, thanks to a reliance

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 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 has confirmed that former World Of Warcraft creative director Alex Afrasiabi was fired for misconduct in 2020.After a report by Kotaku which detailed the alleged sexual harassment and misconduct surrounding the ‘Cosby Suite’, Activision Blizzard has confirmed that Alex Afrasiabi – the former creative director for World Of Warcraft who was named prominently in that report – was fired for misconduct in 2020.

Riot Games is being sued by the state of California for gender discrimination, sexual harassment and pay decisions, according to a recently discovered document. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) litigation notice was spotted by a Reddit user (thanks, PC Gamer), and the class case is “not subject to arbitration.

Activision Blizzard has since cancelled all future meetings.An initial all-hands meeting was chaired on July 26, but due to a scheduling error, was only attended by around 500 employees.Another all-hands meeting was scheduled for today but has since been cancelled.According to Uppercut, Activision Blizzard is offering “discussion sessions” limited to 30 participants each for employees to raise issues and grievances surrounding the State of California lawsuit.“Any future all hands style meetings

Activision Blizzard has hired the renowned union-busting legal firm, WilmerHale, to review the company’s policies after a lawsuit accused the firm of subjecting employees to “constant sexual harassment, including groping, comments, and advances” in the workplace.Previously best known for its work with Amazon when it came to handling workers demanding better pay and working conditions, WilmerHale is generally considered to be an anti-union legal firm.

Ubisoft employees have released an open letter showing support for the Activision Blizzard walkout, and asking for their employers to do more.The letter comes shortly after Activision Blizzard employees announced a walkout to protest the company’s response to allegations laid out in a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

sued by the state of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing last week for cultivating a culture of work that was, according to the suit, “akin to working in a frat house.” Alleged misconduct and gender discrimination at Activision are rampant, according to the lawsuit, including inappropriate commentary on female employees’ bodies, rape jokes and unwanted touching or groping at work.The “Call of Duty” and “Overwatch” publisher is also accused of paying female employees less than

Activision Blizzard will be removing references that are “not appropriate” from its 17-year old MMO World Of Warcraft, in the wake of a slate of sexual harassment allegations that have been levied against the studio.In a message posted to its official forums, credited to the entire World Of Warcraft team, the developers say that “the past days have been a time of reflection”, as they “heed the brave women who have come forward to share their experiences.”The team goes on to say “we stand

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has apologised and detailed how the business will move forward following a week of sexual harassment allegations and an ongoing lawsuit.Kotick issued the letter last night (July 27) on Activision Blizzard’s investor page. The CEO’s letter marks a major change in how the company has publicly addressed the lawsuit and allegations up until this point.Kotick sets out changes in the letter, listing five immediate actions Activision Blizzard will take.

letter began. "I want to recognize and thank all those who have come forward in the past and in recent days.

Employees of Activision Blizzard, the gaming company behind popular gaming titles including Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft, are staging a walkout to protest working conditions.