A former Activision Blizzard executive is suing the company for age discrimination, according to lawsuit filed on Jan. 2. James Reid Venable, a 57-year-old former senior director of business operations, said Activision Blizzard “retaliated and discriminated” against him after he made a discrimination complaint to the company’s human resources department — specifically, Venable believes he was laid off for being old and white.
Ex-Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Allegedly Made Agist Statements Against Staff
08.01.2024 - 17:06 / gameranx.com / Bobby Kotick
It’s always nice to think that certain industries are “above harassment” or other things that have weighed down our world. But, sadly, that faith is rarely rewarded. The places and companies that should be the most “sound of mind” sometimes turn out to be the most corrupt or have some of the most hate-filled people around. For example, the video game industry is full of horror stories about the working conditions of certain places and the abuses made by those in power. And that says nothing about gamers themselves. But in the case of Activision Blizzard, they had an issue that was so grand that it resulted in several lawsuits, and those suits keep on coming.
For those who don’t recall the initial lawsuit, after a two-year investigation, a suit was filed in 2021 that claimed Activision Blizzard created a “frat boy culture” that allowed the men of the company, especially men in power, to do basically whatever they wanted to the female employees of the company without consequence. Furthermore, the company’s women weren’t paid nearly as much as the men and didn’t get many promotion considerations.
The company CEO, Bobby Kotick, became infamous during this time for not only letting this happen but trying to deny it. He even told the board of directors that he was “unaware” of the claims, but it was revealed that he had evidence of these issues and simply “hid them” from the board. He even kept one person from being fired despite serious allegations and HR’s recommendation to fire them. Not cool.
The irony is that while a settlement was reached, it was only for the pay disparity, and Bobby Kotick got to continue being CEO until the buyout from Microsoft was complete.
That brings us to now, where another lawsuit, as noticed by Law 360, has been filed against Activision Blizzard and, specifically, Bobby Kotick. The person who filed it was a former executive who had been with the company for almost a decade before being laid off in a “restructuring” attempt.
In his lawsuit, he noted that Kotick stated during a conference with other staff that “there are too many old white guys.” That’s hilarious because Bobby Kotick is, in fact, an “old white guy.”
When those statements were made, two of the “older” executives left in protest, and when they recommended their replacements, one of which was the plaintiff for the suit, they were ignored, and younger men were put in their place.
If this lawsuit advances, it’s yet more proof that not everything is “good and fair” in the game industry.
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pcgamer.com
08.01.2024 / 16:00
Former Activision-Blizzard employee sues the company for none of the reasons you'd expect by now, accuses Bobby Kotick of saying it had 'too many old white guys'
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.
rockpapershotgun.com
08.01.2024 / 13:29
Former Activision exec sues Call of Duty publisher for discrimination against "old white guys"
An unnamed former Activision executive is taking the Call of Duty publisher to court in California, accusing the company of age discrimination and violating the state's whistleblower protection law. Said executive is a 57-year-old who worked at the company from 2014; apparently, he and six other men aged 47 or older were cut from a team of 200, as part of broader Activision Blizzard restructuring efforts last August.
eurogamer.net
06.01.2024 / 19:03
Activision Blizzard has been accused of discriminating against "old white guys"
A former Activision Blizzard executive has filed a discrimination claim with the company, alleging it of discriminating against «old white guys».
pushsquare.com
05.01.2024 / 00:52
Former Call of Duty Dev Says Decisions Made by Bobby Kotick 'Made Our Games Worse' | Push Square
The decisions made by outgoing Activision CEO Bobby Kotick actively made Call of Duty games worse. That's according to Christina Pollock a programmer who previously worked on the series. Pollock, along with many other former colleagues, made their feelings regarding the controversial exec known on social media once it was confirmed he had definitely left the building.
mmorpg.com
03.01.2024 / 21:53
Microsoft's Brad Smith Calls UK's CMA "Tough And Fair" Regarding Pushback On Activision Blizzard Acquisition
One constant of the last year's worth of news swirling aroundMicrosoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was the back-and-forth bickering between the tech giant and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority as the deal headed to a close. Now, Microsoft's Brad Smith seems to have softened his tone a bit regarding the CMA.
pcgamer.com
03.01.2024 / 14:14
'We begged for more information, more details … all flatly declined': former Blizzard community development manager tears into Bobby Kotick over Overwatch 2's Steam launch
Activision-Blizzard's transfer over to the growing empire of Microsoft has been a bit of a drama, to say the least—but it's all over now, its curtains called with the departure of the company's former CEO Bobby Kotick, exiting stage right.
gamingbolt.com
03.01.2024 / 10:01
Bobby Kotick’s Decisions “Made Our Games Worse,” Says Former Call of Duty Dev
Bobby Kotick was a controversial figure during his long tenure as the CEO of Activision Blizzard, and controversy, it seems, is continuing to follow him in the aftermath of his recent departure. More specifically, developers who formerly worked at Activision Blizzard studios have been speaking out on Kotick’s leadership adversely impacted the games they worked on.
gameranx.com
02.01.2024 / 09:19
Bobby Kotick, Who “Made Their Games Worse”, Leaves Activision After 32 Years
After 32 years, Bobby Kotick has retired at Activision Blizzard King, and possibly, from the video game industry as a whole.
wccftech.com
31.12.2023 / 16:07
Overwatch 2 Was Sent to ‘Die’ on Steam by Ex Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, Says Sr. Community Manager
This July, Blizzard announced it would bring back its games to Steam after several years of absence, beginning with Overwatch 2. However, the team-based first-person shooter game's debut on Valve's platform was marred by severe review bombing. Overwatch 2 actually became the lowest-rated game of all time on Steam when it first became available there. While the game isn't quite as popular as its predecessor, it still is a solid product that shouldn't be rated anywhere near as low. The main factor was the cancellation of the PvE mode, which angered fans due to the developer's broken promise, but that's not the whole story.
thegamer.com
30.12.2023 / 15:15
Workers Share Bobby Kotick Horror Stories After He Finally Leaves Activision Blizzard
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.
thesixthaxis.com
22.12.2023 / 09:44
Activision Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick is leaving next week
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.