Developer Rocksteady have detailed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's initial post-launch plans, confirming The Joker will arrive as a playable character in a free content update accompanying the game's first «season».
09.01.2024 - 04:31 / venturebeat.com / Bobby Kotick
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Activision Publishing has named Natalya Tatarchuk as its new CTO. In her new role, Tatarchuk will oversee the company’s top-level technology goals across Activision’s portfolio, including Call of Duty.
Tatarchuk is new to Activision, but has extensive experience in the games industry. She has led teams working on cutting-edge developments in console and mobile development.
<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>I’m thrilled to share some exciting news – I’m stepping into the role of Chief Technology Officer at Activision! It’s truly an honor to join this trailblazing team. I’m excited to be a part of a team that continues to push the boundaries in the gaming industry!She resigned as the Chief Architect, VP, Wētā Tools at Unity in December 2023. Prior to that, she served as the VP of graphics role for Unity Editor and Engine. Before Unity, Tatarchuk also held positions at AMD and Bungie. Notably, her tenure at Bungie overlapped with the developer’s partnership with Activision to publish Destiny. However, she left Bungie before the deal ended in January 2019.
Activision’s previous CTO Michael Vance will continue in a new role at the publisher to lead more engineering work. Vance has worked for the publisher for 23 years.
“Those of you who know Michael know that he has been instrumental in driving innovation, fostering a culture of collaboration, and ensuring the success of numerous projects in his role as CTO,” said Dave Stohl, EVP of Call of Duty Development, in an email to employees.
This is the first major shakeup of Activision’s leadership following former CEO Bobby Kotick’s departure in December 2023. Microsoft already reorganized its Xbox division following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Natalya Tatarchuk’s appointment aligns with Activision Blizzard’s broader DE&I goals in the wake of state and federal investigations into sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Shortly before this, the publisher settled an unequal pay and sex discrimination case with the state of California, which withdrew its allegations against Activision.
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Developer Rocksteady have detailed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's initial post-launch plans, confirming The Joker will arrive as a playable character in a free content update accompanying the game's first «season».
It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we compile them in semi-regular round-ups.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.