The scandals surrounding Activision Blizzard are also showing their effects at the Game Awards: The publisher is not on board at this year’s award ceremony or online event.
Last week it was still in the balance, now it’s official: Activision Blizzard will not be represented at this year’s The Game Awards, even if Call of Duty is nominated for two awards. This was confirmed by Geoff Keighley on Twitter.
The Game Awards is reacting to the scandals surrounding the publisher, which deal with harassment and discrimination against predominantly female employees, which came to light in the course of a lawsuit by the State of California. There were also reports about the involvement of company boss Bobby Kotick in the processes.
Keighley’s statement is clear: “The Game Awards are a time of celebration for this industry, the biggest form of entertainment in the world. There is no place for abuse, harassment or predatory practices in any company or any community. I also realize we have a big platform which can accelerate and inspire change. We are committed to that, but we all need to work together to build a better and a more inclusive environment so everyone feels safe to build the world’s best games.”
Call of Duty is nominated for Best Esports Game and Best Ongoing, but we won’t get to see more from the publisher at the event.
