The DFEH is litigating video game giant Activision Blizzard, as a recent investigation discovered that inappropriate behavior and harassment were part of its workplace culture. This company based in Santa Monica is popular for its games like Call of Duty (COD) and World of Warcraft (WoW). The Department of Fair Employment and Housing investigated it for a long time. Following the investigation, the DFEH regarded the workplace as one that favored the development of prejudiced treatment and harassment of women.
When responding to the legal action, Activision Blizzard’s Executive Vice President (EVP) Frances Townsend said that these are old and factually wrong claims. At the same time, Townsend described Activision Blizzard’s way of dealing with environments of sexual harassment or hostility as ‘hard-line’.
Jeff Hamilton, who worked on the WoW game, described Activision Blizzard’s reaction to these claims as unacceptable. As for Hamilton, usurping the story of a victim into some rhetorical bludgeon is evil, and responding to the recent allegations through anything but a carefully considered plan to right the abuses is abhorrent.
Numerous Activision Blizzard staffers shared Jeff Hamilton’s sentiment, as they described the company’s response as insulting and abhorrent, and signed a petition. As per a recent Bloomberg report, almost 1,000 former and present workers, including the ones from Activision Blizzard’s Irvine offices, signed that petition.
Through the petition, they claimed that the recent statements clarify that Activision Blizzard’s leaders are not prioritizing their values. They also call for immediate corrections from the topmost level of their company. The executives of this organization have said that there would be actions to protect the workers. However, when confronted with litigation and the anxiety-inducing official reactions that followed, the workers do not trust that the company’s leadership would prioritize employee safety over its interests.
Activision Blizzard’s past employee Joy Fields opined about the company work environment as she detailed alleged harassment experiences. Fields tweeted that her male colleagues at Activision Blizzard constantly treated her as just an object of their sexual interest. In the tweet, Fields said the men in powerful positions offered her money and trips if she would romantically involve herself with them. There, she also revealed that one of her colleagues always negged her as a means of flirting with her and harassed her. When Fields defended herself, the ones who harassed her thus indulged in self-victimization and told her to take it easy.
Reacting to the latest reports, Activision Blizzard’s joint-founder Mike Morhaime stated that discrimination and harassment are common in the whole gaming industry. Morhaime also placed the responsibility to deal with discrimination and harassment on Activision Blizzard’s leaders.
Through a recent Twitter post, Morhaime apologized to the women with awful experiences at the organization. In the post, Morhaime kind of encouraged those women to share their stories. At the same time, Morhaime said that he could and would use his influence to aid in not only driving positive change but also combating misogyny, harassment and discrimination wherever possible. As for Morhaime, the industry could become a place in which minorities and women feel welcomed, supported, included, and acknowledged. Morhaime also wants to leave a mark on the industry, one that everyone could take pride in.
It is not the first time that the industry is seeing harassment-related accusations. In 2018, the DFEH also probed video game development company Riot Games. Then, women workers of the video game developer filed a lawsuit known as ‘class action’ against the company. Through the lawsuit, a settlement worth $10 million was proposed last year. However, the DFEH stopped the proposal, citing the possible entitlement of women to $390 million more on the basis of wage disparity.