A former Activision Blizzard executive has filed a discrimination claim with the company, alleging it of discriminating against «old white guys».
18.12.2023 - 09:21 / gameranx.com / Raven Software / Bobby Kotick
Activision Blizzard King is looking to settle its lawsuit under the California Civil Rights Department.
The California Civil Rights Department was previously known as the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Regardless of the name, this is the same party that sued Activision Blizzard King in 2021.
The California agency’s suit was based on claims of discriminatory hiring and employment practices against women, as well as a frat boy culture that encouraged sexual misconduct.
Activision insisted that these claims were false, but several employees insisted otherwise. After nearly a third of the staff signed an open letter to the leadership, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who himself faced accusations of discrimination, promised an internal review. Activision employees than staged two walkouts.
Other consequences of the lawsuit included Bobby Kotick taking a huge pay cut, and the exit of former Blizzard president J. Allen Brack. Several employees let go in the middle of this lawsuit, including a dozen staff in the just-unionized Raven Software, were alleged to have been done in retaliation for this suit, and organizing efforts among their workers.
While there is speculation that Activision sought to be acquired by Microsoft because of this suit, what is known factually is that Microsoft talked to Blizzard employees as they started the acquisition process. After being told they intended to form a union, Microsoft went on record that they would respect those employees rights to do so. Microsoft would later agree to a labor neutrality agreement with the Communication Workers of America (CWA), covering all Activision Blizzard employees once the deal went through.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, this settlement will cover all claims made against Activision from 2015 to 2020. Of the $ 54 million settlement, roughly $ 9 million is only for attorney’s fees, and over $ 46 million will be paid out to female employees, to cover inequitable pay they received in this period.
The California Civil Rights Department also put on record that they found no confirmation of claims of widespread sexual harassment at the company, and that the management did not create and tolerate a culture of discrimination. The California agency also found no evidence of wrongdoing from Kotick, Activision Blizzard as a company, or its management.
The agency is withdrawing all the abovementioned claims, and the settlement is only to address the gender pay gap. Several state expert witnesses were able to prove the gender pay gap existed, but not to the degree to having a pay disparity between workers at the same rank.
As of this writing, no response has come out from the employees who have grouped together to prompt this
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.
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.
Riders Republic, Ubisoft’s online multiplayer sports simulator, has started its winter-themed ninth season, offering players incentives to log in throughout the start of 2024.
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.
Perhaps the most controversial executive in the history of the video game industry is stepping down by the end of the year. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has long been a divisive figure for his aggressive and abrasive style, but his image took an even worse beating when he was personally implicated in the workplace misconduct allegations that roiled Acti-Blizz back in 2021. Despite that, he hung on, negotiating the $69 billion sale of Activision Blizzard to Microsoft. Throughout the process Microsoft and Xbox boss Phil Spencer have remained mum on what Kotick’s fate may be once the sale was completed.
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.