Activision will pay $50 million to settle discrimination lawsuit

Activision Blizzard has been the focus of criticism for several years due to its widely criticized “boys’ club” corporate culture sleazy games. And now, late Friday evening, just before the holiday season really begins, The Wall Street Journal

reports that the embattled gaming company will pay $50 million to settle a gender discrimination and harassment lawsuit in 2021 – the same lawsuit that apparently prompted Microsoft’s landmark $69 billion acquisition of the gaming company call of Duty And Overwatch Publisher that was finally green light in October after an 18-month legal battle.

The California Department of Civil Rights sued Activision back in 2021, claiming the company’s management intentionally ignored employee complaints about pay disparities, gender- and sexual-based harassment, and discrimination.

Activision has repeatedly denied these allegations. Company officials have also claimed that a internal investigation

The board concluded that the allegations against the company were unfounded. When the Microsoft acquisition was completed earlier this year, longtime Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was “asked out.” two more months leftuntil the end of 2023.

According to the diaryWhen the story about the settlement broke, the state of California had originally estimated Activision’s liability at a much greater amount than $50 million.

The state estimated Activision’s liability in 2021 at nearly $1 billion against 2,500 employees who could have claims against the company, court documents show. Activision employed around 13,000 people at the end of 2022.

Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the said diary further claims that state authorities “originally demanded an amount that was much higher than the settlement Riot Games paid earlier this year to resolve its lawsuit.” The Judgment in May 2023 touched on similar complaints related to a toxic work culture and led to a $100 million settlement for plaintiffs.