As we told you yesterday, the State of California, through its Department of Fair Employment and Housing, has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, which it alleges of promoting sexual harassment and sexism therein. The scale of the affair is so great that a former Activision partner has taken a position on these sensitive issues, to say the least.
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Bungie, the studio behind Destiny, ended its partnership with Activision around the same game in 2019. Despite this divorce, the studio and the publisher were linked for several years. That connection was apparently strong enough to cause Bungie’s management to act on the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. Published in a press release about a series of tweets
Bungie is built on empowering our employees, no matter who they are, where they come from, or how they identify with themselves. We have a responsibility to recognize the situation, reconsider what it entails, and do everything in our power to combat an ongoing culture of harassment, abuse and inequality in our industry.
It is our responsibility to ensure that this type of behavior is not tolerated at any level at Bungie, and that we never apologize or hide it. While the statements on this week’s news may be difficult to read, we hope they will create justice, awareness, and hold those responsible to account.
At Bungie, we practice zero tolerance when it comes to work environments that encourage this toxic culture, and we strive to eradicate it in a way that will stand up for those at risk. Women, people of color, and underrepresented communities have gained nothing by reliving their trauma. We believe them when they report abuse or harassment.
We’re not saying Bungie is perfect and no one has been bothered while working here. But we will not tolerate it and we will go straight to it. And we will keep working to improve every day.
Our goal is to continue to improve the work experience at Bungie and to do our part to make the video game industry more welcoming and inclusive.
Unless it is a priori affected by the Activision Blizzard lawsuit, Bungie’s speech is clearly trying to support that it has nothing to do with Activision anymore. The last time I heard was that Activision Blizzard denied allegations made by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
However, the Blizzard president said he was “worried” by these allegations. In any case, one thing is certain: the affair is far from over. And it wouldn’t be surprising if she encouraged other victims at Activision Blizzard or elsewhere to testify.
