Activision Blizzard Sued By California Over ‘Frat Boy’ Culture

[Kaslo]

https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/14...139651585?s=20

[Obsidian]

They didn't spend 70 billion dollars to do Sony a solid, lol. Once that marketing deal expires there's no chance new CoD games hit Sony platforms without significant cost to Sony. "Our desire to" translates to "make it worth our while."

The Sony (and fanboy) statements on the matter are also pretty funny given what they've been doing with FF7R/FF16 and other SE games.

[Krandor]

Microsoft can only say so much before the deal is finalized, but I'd imagine it entirely comes down to "put gamepass on Playstation or no Call of Duty"

[Mayareira]

One strategy for Microsoft could be to focus on the software revenues while giving Xbox a clear advantage. I mean look how much they make off the Office 365 subscription, and how profitable their Mac versions have always been. Call of Duty could remain multiplatform, on game pass for Xbox and $70 price tag on PS4/5. Then again this contradicts with what they did w/Bethesda.

Cutting Sony of entirely can backfire for Xbox/MS. Sony still has a good bit of experience, a more focused approach on entertainment industry and enough funds, resources and studios to have a Call of Duty rival developed. Playstation also has a very strong userbase that'll support the game as long as its good enough.

[Obsidian]

Microsoft can only say so much before the deal is finalized, but I'd imagine it entirely comes down to "put gamepass on Playstation or no Call of Duty"

Cross play probably a condition as well just to really twist the knife.

[Ker]

Skip to 15:22.

Interesting if true that EA, Ubisoft etc are panicking. Rest are his opinion. I don’t think we’ll see Gamepass on PlayStation until we see Sony’s streaming service first and how it performs when it’s released.

[Qalbert]

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/st...56712661028865
https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/st...64424635654144

[6souls]

tl:dw Bobby Kotick wins

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/14...139651585?s=20

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/st...07899948642310

[Corrderio]

That reminds me, did Mojang have an agreement with Nintendo/Sony before MS bought them? Kind of curious is MS will be cool with CoD on other platforms past 2025.

[6souls]

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/cultur...izzard-filings
https://investor.activision.com/stat...d-f8d26f9d7b5d

ActiBlizz is being exposed for making filings to the SEC that choose to omit striking, unionizing, and labor complaints within the company.

The Communication Workers of America contends that Activision Blizzard has made multiple statements to the SEC that says it is not aware of any unionization effort, strike, or other labor action at the company. When it filed said disclosure statement, there was of course a 34-person strike and unionization effort underway at Call of Duty: Warzone developer Raven software.

"To the Knowledge of the Company, there are no pending activities or proceedings of any labor union, trade union, works council or any similar labor organization to organize any employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with regard to their employment with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries," the disclosure states. "

No Collective Bargaining Agreement is being negotiated by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. There is no strike, lockout, material slowdown, or material work stoppage against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened directly against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries."

The CWA also notes that Activision Blizzard states it is unaware of any complaints to the National Labor Relations Board. Employees filed a complaint last September.

[Koyangi]

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/gematsu/status/1491456190466904066

[6souls]

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/cultur...ision-blizzard
https://www.wsj.com/articles/regulat....1645212786342

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the SEC are expanding their investigations into the company.

The SEC's investigation is looking into how much CEO Bobby Kotick told the company board about sexual harassment reports at the company.

The DFEH investigation (which made the alleged company culture public last summer) is now subpoenaing Kotick, other employees, and several Los Angeles-area police departments. These subpoenas are apparently being fought in court by Activision Blizzard's lawyers.

The report does not indicate what manner of records the DFEH is seeking from law enforcement agencies. When asked for comment, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson provided the following statement on the DFEH subpoenas:

"The DFEH is requesting sensitive, confidential information with no limits or relevant scope from Southern California police departments. This serves no legitimate purpose. It represents yet another questionable tactic in DFEH’s broader effort to derail AB’s settlement with the EEOC. Rather than protecting California workers, the DFEH is impeding the meaningful progress at Activision Blizzard and delaying compensation to affected employees."

[Lucavi]

Whoops.

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/gamedevdotcom/st...36268437663747

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/st...jNF0Pxb1AB30UQ

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/Kotaku/status/1512159919381884934

[Mrbeansman]

You know I remember wanting to go into QA for games from a very young age dodged a bullet on that one.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[Corrderio]

My first job was QA and never doing that shit again. That and my boss made us work like how I'm sure QA staffers at game companies are treated where they're basically working unless they're asleep.