In the past, when you heard Activision Blizzard, you’d probably think of their amazing creations such as Prototype, the Skylander series, the Marvel Ultimate series, and the Diablo series–only name a few. These days, however, if you type in Activision Blizzard in Google, you’ll most likely find stories of sexual harassment, lawsuits, and the disgusting term “frat boy” culture littered across the screen. Many things have been revealed this past week about the behind scenes dealings with workplace, including tons of mistreatment of women who make up about over 20% of the staff.
There were several cases of sexual harassment and discrimination against women including women of color, transgender, and other marginalized groups as seen with unfair wages, lack of promotions, and management enabling sick behavior such as a drunken “cube crawl”–where spaces connected to cubicles allowed for men to drink excessive amounts of alcohol while performing lewd acts with women in the office. Another example included taking female coworkers on business trips and ordering the “Bill Cosby” suite. The most troubling news of all was that the lewd acts and other poor behavior resulted in one of the employees taking her own life during a business trip with her supervisor. As the troubling and sickening news unfold about all of the events that took place, former and current employees have come forward, spanning over 2,000 written complaints and even a staged walk out which occurred Wednesday, July 28th.
Of course, there will always be the argument of whether you should hate the artist AND the art as opposed to hating the artist but continue to love the art, but the question bears for all: Will you continue supporting Activision Blizzard? People are now saying they won’t buy any of their games anymore; even YouTubers are taking a stand against this mess by announcing they will no longer stream or announce their games until further notice. With such a reputable company that makes such amazing games, how will all of this impact the future of Activision Blizzard?
Where do you stand? Would you continue playing their existing games or even download the upcoming Diablo Immortal mobile game later this year? How do you feel about all of this? Let’s let them know that this kind of behavior is not okay, and take a stand!
Please let us know in the comments down below and turn to our discord to let your voice be heard as we discuss all things gaming.
Image Source: Engadget
Leave a Reply