Activision Blizzard Sued By California Over ‘Frat Boy’ Culture

[Shenrien]

The group that would have to come forward to actually push him out are all capital wealth fund groups that don't give a shit, when their stock hits $10 they might care but chances are it'll just bounce back by the next call of duty release from Actiblizz as BF2042 has been a huge flop and Halo is the only thing really competeing in the FPS Run'n'Gun market. Masses genuinely don't care what horrible things people do so long as they continue to get their favorite product delivered to them and will continue to support them. Mind you they also own King which makes hand over fist of money with Candy Crack Crush addicts.

[Prothescar]

Bobby may be a vile, horrific human being but the one thing he has done that the shareholders care about the most is 'guide' the company to make shitloads of fucking money, and until recently that bottom line has never been threatened. We'll see where it goes from here but in the end, capitalism will always win over morality.

[Athas]

Shareholders have objected to the absurd bonuses he's given himself before, it's possible a continued stock slide would have actually consequences.

[Melena]

The group that would have to come forward to actually push him out are all capital wealth fund groups that don't give a shit, when their stock hits $10 they might care but chances are it'll just bounce back by the next call of duty release from Actiblizz as BF2042 has been a huge flop and Halo is the only thing really competeing in the FPS Run'n'Gun market. Masses genuinely don't care what horrible things people do so long as they continue to get their favorite product delivered to them and will continue to support them. Mind you they also own King which makes hand over fist of money with Candy Crack Crush addicts.

Last CoD numbers are not looking good. US totals haven't been released yet but UK was down something like.over 40% in sales versus the previous years.

Stock was going down even before the allegations hit. A 35% drop as of right now in six months is going to begin to rattle even the hardest board, even if they are publicly saying everything is alright.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Shenrien]

Meanwhile in reality.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...eportedly-told

Rules do not apply to Bobby and the board stands to support him.

[Qalbert]

In fairness as well wrt CoD sales, it's a Sledgehammer one, and a WW2 one, so odds were stacked against it to begin with.

[6souls]

Meanwhile in reality.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...eportedly-told

Rules do not apply to Bobby and the board stands to support him.

thanks Vaslik

[Qalbert]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ith-activision

Microsoft Corp.’s head of Xbox said he’s “evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments,” in light of the recent revelations at the video game publisher.

In an email to staff seen by Bloomberg News, Phil Spencer said he and the gaming leadership team are “disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions” at Activision Blizzard Inc. He referred to the Wall Street Journal story earlier this week that said Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick knew of sexual harassment at the company for years and that he mistreated women.

“This type of behavior has no place in our industry,” Spencer wrote. He joins a swell of outcry from employees to investors and shareholders in demanding a stronger response from the U.S.’s second-biggest gaming publisher. On Wednesday, Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation Chief Jim Ryan sent a similar note to staff, writing that he and his leadership were “disheartened and frankly stunned to read” that Activision “has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment.”

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/st...29278434172930

An email sent by Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser sent on Friday, November 19 addresses the Activision-Blizzard report. The email went out to all levels of Nintendo of America, including internal development houses like Retro Studios and the newly-acquired Next-Level Games.

“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company,” Bowser begins. “I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies.”

Bowser goes on in the letter to explain that Nintendo is committed to having an open and inclusive workplace where all are welcome. He remarks the company holds itself to this standard and expects the same from the industry and their partners.

Though without detail, Bowser also says representatives at Nintendo have been “in contact with Activision, have taken action and are assessing others.” It is not entirely clear what actions Bowser is referring to here or which ones they are still leaving on the table.

Article also mentions that Nintendo is using their membership with the ESA to invoke change.

[Mythe_Seraph]

Something to keep in mind with COD - With the introduction of Warzone their model has essentially changed to F2P with these titles moving forward.

Warzone came out AFTER MW (2019) and was integrated with Cold War (2020) release, as it will be with Vanguard (2021) release. Copy sales are no longer a reliable metric for this title. Instead you’d need to look at ancillary revenue generated.

For 2020 it was something absolutely fucking disgusting at a whopping $5mil PER DAY average. I wouldn’t be surprised if 2021 is higher considering the overall quality of their in game purchases generally increased.

Another minor note, Cold War (2020) was awful. Vanguard (2021) has been fantastic. And I still don’t expect a YOY increase in copies sold, despite it being arguably the best COD in the last half decade. That’s how much Warzone demands from the fan base, Warzone is hands down the future of COD.

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/gamedevdotcom/st...61643647520794

The Workplace Responsibility Committee has been formed to help the company remedy the situation, and according to a statement will "oversee [Activision Blizzard's] progress in successfully implementing its new policies, procedures, and commitments to improve workplace culture and eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination."

The Committee is being chaired by Dawn Ostroff, who's been an independent director since 2020. Reveta Bowers, an independent director since 2018, will also serve on the Committee.

Bobby Kotick, who in a scathing Wall Street Journal report was accused (among other things) of sending death threads to his assistant in 2006, will be on hand to provide frequent progress reports to the committee, which in turn will regularly brief the full board of directors.

[Qalbert]

[Abandon]

LMAO

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/st...914903042?s=20

[6souls]

They relocated them to Wisconsin, then fired them. What cruelty.

https://twitter.com/eyyohbee/status/...584715778?s=20

[Corrderio]

Fucking oof since I've been in a similar incident and fucking hell at Activision being bigger and bigger pricks.

[Dimmauk]

They relocated them to Wisconsin, then fired them. What cruelty.

https://twitter.com/eyyohbee/status/...584715778?s=20

When I worked for Motorola, they relocated people to at will work states from Unionized states, gave them a raise, relocation bonus, then 6 months later, they got laid off. Then they brought in people from south America to train because they were expanding, then once the facility was up and running, everyone that trained those people got laid off, and they closed plant here.

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/st...488525317?s=20
https://twitter.com/BlizzJess/status...55855707475970

[Melena]

Looks like former longtime Blizzard Employee Geoff Frazier is a bigoted piece of shit.

https://kotaku.com/longtime-blizzard...n-d-1848276468

[Corrderio]

Am I looking at the right image? I'm not seeing anything in discord leak that is anti LGBT/Disabled. Worse I see is him calling her a bitch.