Activision Blizzard Situation Thread

[Karo]

Honestly this is actually looking like something will actually happen I mean when it seem like a lot of industries people are coming together to say, "Hey Bobby Kottick obviously covered this up and he needs to go!" and I for one am really happy to hear about this, but this is just one company even after Bobby Kottick and the boards that are trying to keep him as their CEO their are still plenty of company CEOs that could honestly be used to forced to step down.

I also have noticed this twitter account so I think people in there are starting to organize in a way: https://twitter.com/ABetterABK

So we could see some improvement to blizzard assuming that the right results happen.

[Maniakkid25]

Oh, and just because this story can't get worse, Activizzard has reportedly said that their Zero-Tolerance policy will not apply to these allegations, because they have "no evidence" of them occuring due to them being over a decade old. Just in case you thought that the people at the top had to follow the rules, nah, they don't.

The only way they are going to learn this shit is unacceptable is if we hurt their bank accounts, and they KNOW there aren't enough of us who care for that to really happen. Fuck them.

[Karo]

For once I don't feel completely doom and gloom about the situation I honestly agree with the sentiment that boycotting blizzard is a better option than buying their products and some people have said, "Don't do that it will hurt the developers" and honestly I agree with the sentiment of James Stephanie Sterling Child, which was basically like, "Even on record profits they will still lay their employees off" so really it comes down to whether you want to vote with your wallet or not.

A lot of people will be supportive, but will not vote with their wallets and that is too bad, but a lot of people really just want their escapism.

[Moonface]

I honestly think nothing is going to get anyone to step down until every last possible cent has been squeezed out. So long as money is coming in, they won't leave. I wouldn't even be shocked if they gutted the entire company just to keep the money coming in until the bitter end. I say this because Xbox has now also spoken out about this, with Phil Spencer saying he is evaluating the company's relationship with Activision. However unlike PlayStation, Xbox have also outright said they will take action. Activision doesn't appear to care about any of this though:

“We respect all feedback from our valued partners and are engaging with them further,” Activision said in a statement. “We have detailed important changes we have implemented in recent weeks, and we will continue to do so. We are committed to the work of ensuring our culture and workplace are safe, diverse, and inclusive. We know it will take time, but we will not stop until we have the best workplace for our team.”

It's just such a bog standard PR statement. They won't do anything, and "it will take time" for them could just mean they'll deal with it in a year from now. They might not stop, but they're not exactly making a point to sort this out.

[ShiraNoMai]

A bit of old news at this point, but Nintendo also put out their own statement, now completing the triad of The Big Three telling Activision to stuff it. They're still trying to mitigate the fire with a cup of water, and refuse to accept any other truth, so who knows where this will go now

[Moonface]

It's so silly that having the big three comment on the problems of a third party companies culture is unprecedented and yet Blizzard will continue to chug along as if it didn't even happen. Money is the only way to impact them at this point and that's only happening if digital store fronts refuse to sell the games, because we all know the consumers won't make enough of a ripple in the water for Kotick to notice.

[Maniakkid25]

And besides, anyone remember Ubisoft coming under fire for having the exact same toxic environment in their workplace? No? That's what I thought; Ubisoft was able to ride that wave and do fuck all, and people eventually forgot about it. Activizzard is expecting the exact same thing to happen to them. Don't let it happen. Do not forget this!

[Moonface]

@Maniakkid25: I didn't forget but I had given up months ago on anything happening with them. I feel like that story also dropped out of the news quick compared to this story, although this is also being constantly brought to attention again with other companies making statements or Kotick making statements. I don't think the head of Ubisoft made any remarks outside of the period when the story was initially breaking was he?

[Maniakkid25]

This is the story that just keeps on giving, and this time its given something that is just weird as hell. So, among other accusations, at least one employee claims that they had their breast milk stolen while they were nursing. That milk, by the way, is kept in a fridge that is padlocked. Like...I have several questions, and I don't know if I want the answers to them. Chief among them being "Why the hell are you stealing breast milk?!"

[Moonface]

I see that the person sharing that disturbing situation says it was either thrown out or potentially taken, but I expect if it was tossed it would've been located in a trash bin and found eventually unless the person went out of their way to bury it beneath existing garbage. It seems more likely to me that it was outright taken, and it feels fitting given everything else going on with Activision.

I'm curious whether this whole situation is going to be mentioned in any capacity at The Game Awards tonight. It really should be, but I'm not holding my breath for it to be officially mentioned; it'll likely only come up by someone else presenting deciding to just say it without warning.

[Maniakkid25]

...You're not gonna believe me when I tell you this: Geoff Keighley, the sleaze himself, brought it up in the middle of the show. The video may have been taken down by now, so here's the transcript by yours truly.

Geoff: Thank you! We gotta be real, and we can't ignore the headlines that are out there. Game creators need to be supported by the companies that employ them.

*pause, followed by crowd cheering and applauding*

Geoff: I think we all agree with that. So let me just say this before we get to any of the news or announcements or awards: We should not and we will not tolerate any abuse, harassment, and predatory practices by anyone, including our online communities.

*Applause. At this point, an announcement in the lower third reads:*
"The Games and Online Harassment Hotline
"Text Support to 23368 from anywhere in the USA
"Or visit Gameshotline.org"

Geoff: We all love games, and if we want this industry to keep growing, we must build an even brighter and more inclusive future. The games we play and when the-- the games that we love, they teach us that we can impact the world around us, and tonight, I call on everyone to do their part to build a better, safer video game industry! Speak out online, vote with your time and with your dollars, empower these world builders who are creating the future of all entertainment, and believe me, the future you're about to see looks absolutely incredible! We've got a lot of good stuff for you; we have so much news to get to.

*video ends*

I am, at times, a cynical bastard, and do indeed think this was just feeding the public what they want to hear it. But it hits differently when the face of everything wrong with video game journalism and coverage is the one saying these words. It actually feels like he might just care. A little bit. In that cavern that contains his Doritos sponsorships he calls a heart.

[ShiraNoMai]

Sleazebag? Might need some context to that statement @Maniakkid25 , while he can feel tied around a lot of "sponsorship" shackles, he's a dude that genuinely cares about sharing cool shit with folk and does a lot to try and get that to happen.

I was hoping for a name drop in that statement he made but alas. Though apparently, on Reddit when asked if he was gonna, said there wasn't a point cuz no one's talking about Riot, Ubisoft, etc so what's the point in calling out only one just cuz it's the only one making headlines currently?

[Maniakkid25]

He's traded all of his journalistic integrity for that sweet sweet cash. He has earned his status as a meme, and yes, I call him a sleazebag because he represents everything wrong with video game journalism. Whether or not his job as host as the Game Awards gives him leverage to show us all the cool stuff, he has earned his status.

[ShiraNoMai]

I don't think I'd ever peg Keighley as a journalist though? He's more of an icon/organizer in the industry at this point.

[Moonface]

I looked at his Wiki, and it seems most of his work is presenting rather than writing. The only writing he's notably done according to it is his works, which seem to be independent books or something rather than articles. It says he wrote for Kotaku briefly but it doesn't go further. If not for his published works it looks like he mostly dabbled briefly in journalism but otherwise focused on presenting and now I'm trying to find what he actually has done journalistic work on specifically to try and get an idea of what could be bad about him, since Wiki isn't giving me a lot to work with.