While the pressure on Bobby Kotick is still intense from different angles in Activision Blizzard, the discontent among the workers has not ceased. The resignations and dismissals of high positions of the company have happened in the last months, but now there has been a really important march.
Jessica Gonzalez, the company’s senior test analyst, has made the decision to resign. A position that does not seem fundamental, but the importance of Jessica lies in the fact that she has been the main organizer of the second strike between the staff and one of the people most committed to claims of his classmates.
He was also a very important member during the first strike of this year and throughout this time he has sent messages demanding deep structural changes in Activision Blizzard. This is the statement he has left on his Twitter account announcing his departure:
My resignation from Blizzard Entertainment pic.twitter.com/eJeTsYGFv8
— Jessica Gonzalez 💙 #FireBobbyKotick (@BlizzJess) November 30, 2021
My commitment to my future …
Hi ABK,
Unfortunately, this is a farewell message. It has been a pleasure over the years, and I have made the decision to leave Blizzard with my well-being first. I have accepted an opportunity that is very good to be able to leave. I will be moving into a senior quality engineering position for a finance tech company and outside of game development entirely.
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet my colleagues in better circumstances, but I take our vision of diversity, fairness, inclusion, and worker rights with me and I value the work we’ve done during my time here. For those of you grateful for my voice, I encourage you to find yours and use it. There are good people in the industry and I think with enough education and awareness from ABK it can be a great place to be. There is still a lot of work to be done and I am mentally wounded from this battle. It has been a long and exhausting road for change, but it is not over.
Don’t forget what so many passionate developers worked hard on and will continue to work beyond my absence. Let your passion and the passion of those around you spark the spark that ignites meaningful change. I believe in the good people at this company and can’t wait to see where everyone can take it.
To @bkotick: Your inaction and refusal to take responsibility is driving out great talent and the products will suffer until you are removed from your CEO role. This may sound harsh, but it took years to fix the culture and see where the company currently stands.
My last day is December 10th.
Every voice matters.
A final message against Kotick calling for his resignation ends the statement. Gonzalez has been part of Blizzard for two years and on the 10th he will no longer be part of the company. There are already many critical voices that have joined against one of the giants of the industry.
From Xbox and Sony they spoke out against everything that is happening regarding harassment and discrimination, as did Nintendo. ESA, organ that organizes E3, also showed its rejection without explicitly naming Activision Blizzard.
