A former Activision Blizzard executive has filed a discrimination claim with the company, alleging it of discriminating against «old white guys».
17.12.2023 - 20:01 / pcgamer.com / Bobby Kotick
First reported by the New York Times, a major chapter in Activision Blizzard's reckoning over an alleged internal culture of misogyny and harassment has ended. The California Civil Rights Department (formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing) has settled with Activision Blizzard for $54 million, dropping its sexual harassment suit.
In addition to the $54 million paid to the state, Activision Blizzard has set aside $47 million to handle accusations of gender discrimination in pay and promotions. According to the settlement, Gilbert Casellas, a former chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, concluded «there was no widespread harassment or recurring pattern or practice of gender harassment» following an investigation into Activision Blizzard.
In July of 2021, the California Civil Rights Department filed its lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, alleging that the gaming giant had a «frat boy» culture and was a «breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women.» A 2021 Wall Street Journal report (users may encounter a paywall) alleged that longtime Activision CEO Bobby Kotick personally intervened in a sexual harassment investigation at the company, and even personally made a death threat to an assistant in 2006.
Former Blizzard Chief Compliance Officer Frances Townsend called the allegations «a distorted and untrue picture of [Activision Blizzard], including factually incorrect, old, and out of context stories—some more than a decade ago.» Townsend would step down from this role in 2022, but the executive is also notable for having toured the United States' infamous Abu Ghraib torture prison in 2004 while working for the Bush White House. Townsend denied witnessing abuse of prisoners during the tour.
Bloomberg published a report (users may encounter a paywall) corroborating the «frat boy» assessment of Blizzard, while in our own report based on interviews with three ex-Blizzard employees, one said it was «impossible» not to observe misconduct at the company.
In March of 2022, Blizzard settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $18 million, while in October of that year Activision Blizzard was hit with another sexual harassment lawsuit that alleged company management was aware of a manager's yearslong pattern of predation and abuse of a female employee.
In February of 2023, Activision Blizzard paid a $35 million fine to the SEC to settle charges that the company broke whistleblower protections and failed to disclose information to investors.
Amid this controversy, one bright spot has been the historic union activity at some of Activision Blizzard's studios. Despite pushback from the company, the QA developers at
A former Activision Blizzard executive has filed a discrimination claim with the company, alleging it of discriminating against «old white guys».
A former Activision executive has sued the publisher in California state court accusing the company of age discrimination and violating the state's whistleblower protection law, as reported by Law360.
After 32 years, Bobby Kotick has retired at Activision Blizzard King, and possibly, from the video game industry as a whole.
Bobby Kotick’s last day at renowned gaming megacorporation Activision Blizzard was Friday, December 29th, 2023. He leaves with a $15 million… departure salary? In casual terms, it’s a “golden parachute.” He’s 60 years old. He’ll be fine.
It's official: Bobby Kotick has left Activision Blizzard. After 32 years of leading the company, originally just Activision before the Blizzard merger, the controversial CEO is gone, having seen the Microsoft acquisition through to the end.
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.
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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.
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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.
California’s Civil Rights Department reached a settlement with Activision Blizzard late last week two years after the state regulator brought a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination, pay inequities and a culture of sexual harassment at the video game company.