Ubisoft employees sign an open letter in support of Activision Blizzard protest

Singer Sinéad O’Connor has written a moving open letter to Prince Harry.

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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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,

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.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has responded to an open letter signed by more than 500 current and former Ubisoft employees that not only expressed solidarity with the Activision Blizzard walkout this week (July 28) but called for industry-wide change against harassment and abusive behaviour.The letter also criticised Ubisoft for not doing enough in the wake of allegations made against the company last year over abuse and sexual harassment.“We have stood by and watched as you only fired the most

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.

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

Jennifer Yuma editorOlympic gold champion Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from the gymnastics team final and not defend her all-around gold medal has been praised by both Hollywood and fellow athletes alike.Hitting back at negative criticism from the likes of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, who branded Biles a “shame to the country,” and Piers Morgan, came a world of support from those who believe the 4-time gold medalist did the right thing.Fellow Olympian Dominique Moceanu is among the

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.

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.

Activision Blizzard staff will hold a strike to show their collective frustration with the company’s response to the lawsuit highlighting bullying, sexual harassment and more within the workplace. As originally reported by Bloomberg, the decision to strike has been building since the lawsuit was filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on July 22.

Activision Blizzard staff have signed an open letter criticising the company for its response to the ongoing discrimination lawsuit.Staff circulated the letter, which Bloomberg initially reported, yesterday following the news last week that the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing was suing Activision Blizzard over allegations of sexism and discrimination.Almost 1,500 former and current employees criticised Activision Blizzard’s official response to the lawsuit.