Diablo IV and Overwatch will soon be available to stream on Nvidia's cloud gaming service, GeForce Now, the company confirmed during its CES 2024 keynote.
19.12.2023 - 23:31 / mmorpg.com
Activision Blizzard is ending its hybrid work policy for its quality assurance teams, requiring in-office work for QA employees in El Segundo, Austin, and Minneapolis. The ABK Workers Alliance has pushed back against this mandate, calling the move a «soft layoff.»
The new mandate will require QA members in the affected cities to return to the office full-time, effectively ending the hybrid work schedule Activision Blizzard, like many companies, has adopted since the Pandemic. The QA staff was made aware of the decision back on November 30th, with the new mandate taking effect in January, according to a post by the ABK Workers Alliance.
In a post to social media, the union released a statement pushing back against the new mandate for QA members, saying that a «one-size-fits-all mandate harms» everyone at ABK.
<p dir=«ltr» lang=«en» xml:lang=«en»>On November 30th, Activision QA employees in Minneapolis, Austin, and El Segundo received an email announcing that hybrid work will be ended in January for QA employees. Below is our statement regarding this decision. pic.twitter.com/UKyRH2BggH«The job security of many QA employees was already on shaky ground due to the announcement of hybrid work earlier this year,» the ABK Workers Alliance said in its statement. It continues, «Since then, hundreds of employees have been in correspondence with the Accommodations team to try to receive permanent work from home arrangements due to disability, financial issues, or other factors. Many of these requests have been outright denice and many more have been offered in-office accommodations that do not adequately meet the needs of employees.»
As a result of the earlier move, and indeed even the new mandate, the ABK union says that many employees have been «forced out of the company in a soft layoff.» For their part, Activision Blizzard is offering severance pay for anyone who chooses to leave the company due to the mandate. According to an email viewed by IGN, the severance would include «12 weeks of pay, 2023 bonus, 12 months of healthcare, and unused vacation time.»
In a statement to IGN, Activision Blizzard acknowledged the mandate and offered its reasons for insisting on its implementation, saying that workers were more productive while in person due to a variety of factors.
«After returning to the office in April, we’ve learned a lot about how our teams can work best. In particular, we saw our QA team in Minneapolis, Austin and El Segundo work more effectively and efficiently in person, thanks to improved broadband speeds, seamless team coordination, and better hardware access. As a result, we’ve made the decision to move from a hybrid work schedule to a full-time, in-office working model for Activision QA in
Diablo IV and Overwatch will soon be available to stream on Nvidia's cloud gaming service, GeForce Now, the company confirmed during its CES 2024 keynote.
Activision-Blizzard has been the centre of a lot of controversy over these past few years. After a lawsuit went public, detailing «numerous complaints about unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation» and a «frat boy» culture, plus claims from former CEO Bobby Kotick that the whole thing was just an «aggressive labour movement,» the company finally settled last year.
A former Activision Blizzard executive has filed a discrimination claim with the company, alleging it of discriminating against «old white guys».
Long-time Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick is leaving the company following its acquisition by Microsoft in October. Kotick will depart on 29th December, with Microsoft largely keeping the company’s core leadership intact outside of this.
Long-time Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick is leaving the company following its acquisition by Microsoft in October. Kotick will depart on 29th December, with Microsoft largely keeping the company’s leadership intact outside of this.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
It’s official: The Bobby Kotick era at Activision Blizzard will end on December 29. According to The Verge, Instead of appointing a new replacement, the top Activision Blizzard executives will now report to Microsoft’s game content and studios president Matt Booty. Several more higher-level Activision Blizzard employees will also leave the company in the new year with departures planned through March 2024.
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is officially resigning from the company after the completion of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of the gaming developer and publisher. Kotick’s last day is Dec. 29, when Microsoft studio head Matt Booty will take lead of the Activision Blizzard executive leadership team. Kotick led Activision Blizzard for 32 years.
US publishing giant Activision Blizzard is requiring quality assurance staff to come into the office for work.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 publisher Activision Blizzard plan to end hybrid remote/in-office work for QA staff based in Minneapolis, Austin, and El Segundo next year, with employees who are unwilling to fully return to the office offered severance, in what the ABK Workers Alliance are calling the basis for a round of "soft layoffs".
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox