[ad_1]
The makers of Diablo and Warcraft games have been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and women face a culture of unequal pay.
On Wednesday morning, more than 100 people appeared outside the offices of Activision Blizzard in Southern California to show their support for sexual harassment lawsuits and to protest the lack of response from video game manufacturers.
Employees and other demonstrators gathered on the sidewalks of Blizzard Entertainment’s campus. Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of Diablo and Warcraft, is at the center of a lawsuit filed by California agencies. One participant wrote on Twitter that a protester called for the firing of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotic.
The upset individual screamed and fired Bobby and refused to recognize the rules of protest that had been made.
This is not about Bobby, this is about employees.#ActiBlizzWalkout
-DesMephisto 💙 #ActiBlizzWalkout (@DesMephisto) July 28, 2021
Elsewhere on the Internet, fans seek to unite with employees to resist the video game. “You can support #ActiBlizzWalkout by not playing their headline,” Twitter user Shannon wrote. The post received more than 2,300 reposts and more than 5,000 likes. In the comments, other users suggest not to log in to the game or uninstall them.
Seeing the list of strike requirements given by more than 2,600 Activision Blizzard employees is simply 👏🏻
You can support #ActiBlizzWalkout Don’t play their title tomorrow https://t.co/wDUOLOZHtI pic.twitter.com/fAb5n5L716
-Shannon (@ShannonZKiller) July 27, 2021
Last week, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision, detailing allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, as well as the culture of women facing unequal pay and retaliation. Employees protested the company’s response to sex discrimination lawsuits and demanded fairer treatment for underrepresented workers.
On Tuesday, Kotic issued a letter to all employees in response to the strike, calling the company’s recent actions “deaf.” In his email, Kotic said he hired the law firm WilmerHale to review its policies and promised to “act quickly” to eliminate harassment.
The employees responded with their own letters, saying that Kotick had failed to resolve concerns about employment contracts that included mandatory arbitration clauses and lack of transparency in pay.
“We know there are many topics to consider,” an Activision spokesperson wrote in an email statement on Wednesday. “Activision Blizzard’s leadership team is also committed to long-term change, listening and continuing to carry out important work to create a safe and inclusive workplace that we can all be proud of.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Activision shares rose 1.3% with the Nasdaq index. As of this year, as of Tuesday, they have fallen 9.5%.
For Activision and Kotick, this has been a turbulent year. Earlier this summer, some shareholder groups claimed that Kotick’s compensation was too high, but the company still received shareholder recognition of its executive compensation. The company is scheduled to announce its financial results next Tuesday.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Canterman wrote that long-term disputes with employees may cause delays in Activision games.
DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole said that if managed properly, Activision should be able to minimize damage to its business. However, Cole added that the whole ordeal may end up making Activision a place on the consumer list of the “most hated company”.
[ad_2]
Source link