Activision Blizzard employees are walking out today in protest of the companies handling of sexual harassment allegations. Players join in the demonstration with mass log-outs throughout Blizzard games. Outrage follows a new lawsuit filed on July 22nd claiming the company has fostered an environment of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
Employees march outside Blizzard’s Irvine offices with signs of protest and support for co-workers. The demonstration is being called #ActBlizzWalkout. 2,600 Activision Blizzard employees have signed an open letter to their company. Available via Polygon below. Complaints range from sexual harassment, gender bias, tone def response by management, and lack of action to stop abusers.
Players are staging mass log-outs in various games, specifically World of Warcraft. The campaign calls for everyone to meet in the city of Oribos at 10 am PST then log out together. Players are to sustain from logging back in for 30 minutes.
Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick released a statement about the developing situation. Some problems are addressed, like removing in-game references to harassers and establishing “diversity initiatives.” Players’ and employees’ general response to Bobby’s statement has been “too little, too late.” There is a great deal of mistrust with Kotick due to his history of profit-first actions.
Activision Blizzard’s issues are far from over, but the community seems focused on action. For the company to rise above this, there will need to be radical changes throughout the entire organization. We will continue to update you as the story develops.
We stand with the employees of Activision Blizzard. We will no longer stream their games until real action is taken. #ActBlizzWalkout
Sources: WoWHead, Polygon, PCGamer
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