Thanks to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Activision has once again become the focus of attention.
In short, Treyarch’s co-leaders have left the company and filed two claims against Sledgehammer Games, and Blizzard has filed another accusation. In addition, the Wall Street Journal also reported instances of Bobby Kotick’s bad behavior and claimed that he seemed to be indifferent to allegations of sexual misconduct against the company’s boss.
According to the report, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is obviously aware of allegations of sexual harassment against the company, but he did not take corresponding action. On several occasions, Kotick himself had to settle with former employees. It was said that he left her a threatening voice mail, and another employee was fired by him for reporting sexual misconduct.
One such example occurred in 2006, when an assistant of Kotick left him a voice mail in which he threatened to kill her. According to reports, the matter has been settled out of court.
In response, an Activision representative told the Wall Street Journal Kotic that he apologized for “obviously exaggerated and inappropriate voicemails” 16 years ago, and said that he “has expressed his deep appreciation for the exaggeration and tone of his voicemail until today. Regret”.
The second time occurred in 2007. In this case, a flight attendant working on a jet aircraft jointly owned by Kotick complained that the pilot had sexually harassed her. This resulted in the flight attendant being fired by Kotic. According to the paper, the matter was settled through arbitration at a price of $200,000.
In the case of Call of Duty studio Treyarch, an employee who worked at the company in 2017 accused co-leader Dan Bunting of sexual harassment. The case was not investigated until two years later, resulting in both the Human Resources Department and his supervisor suggesting that he be fired; however, the newspaper reported that Kotick intervened and advised Bunting to be consulted.
According to reports, Bunting left the studio after the Wall Street Journal began investigating the allegations against him.
When it comes to Sledgehammer Games, another Call of Duty studio, the developer has forgotten two allegations of sexual misconduct.
In the first case, an employee stated that her supervisor raped her twice after being forced to drink alcohol during work activities. Her lawyer said the incident was reported to Sledgehammer’s human resources department and supervisor, but nothing happened until she obtained legal counsel and threatened to sue. The case was settled out of court and the supervisor was fired.
The second claim stated that an employee sexually harassed another employee at another office party that was fueled by alcohol in 2017. When she complained to the supervisor and the human resources department, the defendant was given a two-week paid suspension and was allowed to stay in Activision in a different position. The following year, he was fired for arguing with the manager about his green card, and then he left the company.
Another accusation against Blizzard involves technical director Ben Kilgore (Ben Kilgore). He is said to have been fired after repeatedly claiming to have sexually harassed employees. He also lied about his relationship with a junior employee.
After the WSJ article was published, Activision said in a statement that the company stated that it was “disappointed” with the report and “and it represents a “misleading view of Activision Blizzard and its CEO.”
“Instances of sexual misconduct were brought to [Kotick’s] The statement read. And our values.
“The constant desire to be better always sets this company apart. That’s why, under Mr. Kotick’s guidance, we have made significant improvements, including a zero tolerance policy for misconduct. This is also our unwavering commitment The reasons for moving forward are focus, speed and resources to continue to increase the diversity of our company and industry, and to ensure that every employee feels valued, safe, respected and inspired at work.
“We will not stop until we provide our team with the best workplace.”
Activsion’s board of directors also issued the following statement supporting the future of Kotick and Activsion Blizzard.
“The Activision Blizzard board remains committed to making Activision Blizzard the most popular and inclusive company in the industry.
“Under the leadership of Bobby Kotick, the company is already implementing industry-leading changes, including a zero tolerance harassment policy, a commitment to significantly increase the percentage of women and non-binary populations in our workforce, and Large internal and external investments have accelerated opportunities for diversified talent. The board still believes that Bobby Kotick has properly addressed the workplace issues he noticed.
“The goals we set for ourselves are both important and ambitious. The board remains confident in Bobby Kotick’s leadership, commitment, and ability to achieve these goals.”
Today’s report is just the latest news in a series of news from Activision Blizzard. Earlier reports said the company had cultivated a toxic culture. These allegations came to light as a result of California lawsuits filed for bullying, harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace.
To solve the company’s future problems, Actvision plans to respond to workplace abuse and improve its recruitment practices.
A Better ABK, the employee group of Activision Blizzard King employees, went on strike to protest the new allegations and called on Kotick to resign.
We have developed our own zero tolerance policy. Until Bobby Kotick is replaced as CEO, we will not remain silent and will continue to maintain our initial request of third-party audits from sources selected by employees. We went on strike today. We welcome you to join us.
— ABetterABK 💙 ABK Workers Union (@ABetterABK) November 16, 2021