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U.S. Government Now Investigating Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick Subpoenaed
20.9.2021
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly launched a wide-reaching investigation into Activision Blizzard, with the government agency looking into how the embattled publisher handled the multiple allegations of sexual harassment, abuse, and toxic behavior that became public...
Diablo II Resurrected Dev: Folks Deciding If They'll Buy It Should 'Do What They Feel Is Right'
19.9.2021
In an interview with Axios Gaming on September 17, the design director on the upcoming Diablo II remake explained that folks trying to decide if they should buy the game should “do what they feel is right.” Many players don’t want to support Activision Blizzard games after a recent lawsuit made...
Blizzard Reduces Titty In World Of Warcraft, But Not Sexism At The Company
17.9.2021
The newest World of Warcraft update reduces the amount of titty that can be seen in the game. Unfortunately, no restitution for its gender-marginalized developers is in sight. Read more
Destiny Composer Ordered To Pay Bungie Nearly $100,000
16.9.2021
Composer Marty O’Donnell, Bungie’s former audio director, has been found in contempt of court for his continuous use of Destiny assets, including uploading song clips online long after he left the company. According to Eurogamer, such use violated the terms of a previous lawsuit.Read more
Seven Years With Destiny
15.9.2021
It’s 3 a.m., and I’m searching for a gun. Not just any gun but a primary sidearm that shoots rounds vibrating with a dark crystal energy that only drops from Destiny 2’s seasonal competitive slog known as Iron Banner. The gun is called Peacebond, an early contender for best new sidearm in the game...
Workers Accuse Activision Blizzard Of Union Busting
14.9.2021
Activision Blizzard employees represented by the ABetterABK worker group filed a lawsuit against the Call of Duty publisher with the National Labor Review Board yesterday accusing it of union busting. It comes in the wake of a bombshell California lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment...
Abandoned Star Trek Games Finally Playable Again
9.9.2021
Yesterday, September 8, was Star Trek Day, because the original series debuted on this day all the way back in the groovy year of 1966. As you might expect, a bunch of Star Trek news happened, including some new seasons of ongoing shows. But more importantly, some classic Star Trek games, like...
Ubisoft Appoints Another White French Guy As Head Creative
7.9.2021
Ubisoft’s new chief creative officer is Igor Manceau, a 20-year veteran of the company who most recently led development on Riders Republic, the company announced today. Manceau steps into the role over a year after previous CCO, Serge Hascoët, resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct, and...
World Of Warcraft Achievements Remove References To Hoes, Giant Sacks
7.9.2021
In late July, in response to California’s lawsuit accusing Activision Blizzard of fostering an environment of harassment and discrimination against female employees, Blizzard announced it was taking steps to remove inappropriate content and references from World of Warcraft. Two of those changes...
Overwatch League Season 5 Will Use An ‘Early Build’ Of Overwatch 2
3.9.2021
Blizzard announced today that the next season of Overwatch League will begin in April 2022. And in a separate statement to Kotaku, an OWL spokesperson confirmed that this upcoming season will use an “early build” of Overwatch 2. Read more
Please, Free Me From The Bad Takes About China’s Gaming Restrictions
1.9.2021
Whenever any kind of news about China hits the internet, I brace myself for oversimplifications by English-language writers and commentators. But in a country with roughly 720 million gamers (roughly twice the U.S. population), the context behind the recent gaming restrictions placed on Chinese...
California Accuses Activision Blizzard Of Shredding Abuse Evidence
25.8.2021
The state of California recently expanded its discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, Axios reports. In addition to suing the massive gaming conglomerate over its culture of harassment and abuse toward female employees, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is now also looking...
Activision Name Conspicuously Absent From Call Of Duty: Vanguard Marketing
21.8.2021
Call of Duty: Vanguard was officially announced yesterday, the first major Activision Blizzard reveal since the corporation came under public scrutiny for its abhorrent treatment of female employees. A minor detail in the reveal video has some speculating that Activision is keen to avoid reminding...
Amid Turmoil, Activision's Call Of Duty Machine Grinds Ahead With Vanguard
19.8.2021
Call of Duty: Vanguard got its first extended trailer today and a release date of November 5. The announcement comes as publisher Activision Blizzard faces an unprecedented lawsuit by California state regulators alleging years of workplace misconduct and discirimiation.Read more
Riot Is Still Delaying Harassment Investigation, California Alleges
17.8.2021
In addition to Activision Blizzard, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing has also been looking at Riot Games’ history of “unlawful workplace practices”, saying in a statement today that the League of Legends developer has once again delayed their investigations into harassment...
Overwatch League Casters Stop Saying McCree’s Name
12.8.2021
McCree is Overwatch’s iconic gunslinger, but some casters commentating over official competitions are now avoiding saying his name. The shift comes after Jesse McCree, the real-life Blizzard developer who the character is named after, was pictured in a now infamous “Cosby Suite” that took place...
Activision Blizzard’s QA Department Seems Like A Hellhole
12.8.2021
Long hours. Low pay. Tremendous instability. Working in quality assurance (QA) for a video game studio is notoriously difficult and painstaking enough as it is without factors like these complicating matters. Yet for QA testers at Activision Blizzard, a company that has come under fire in recent...
Ex-Far Cry Dev's New Game Studio Is 4.7 Percent Women, Ready For More
12.8.2021
Assassin’s Creed III director and former Stadia developer Alex Hutchinson is back with a new studio called Raccoon Logic, as well as some old excuses about its lack of diversity. A picture included in a press release showed the new studio’s staff standing on an outdoor staircase. Of the 20 people...
Call Of Duty League Crowds Will Have To Be Vaccinated, Wear Masks
12.8.2021
While some events around the world are starting to let big crowds back in, like the NBA and English football, the rising number of Delta variant cases in the US is forcing a rethink of other, indoor shows, like the Call of Duty League.Read more
Jesse Mcree, Diablo 4 Director No Longer At Activision Blizzard
11.8.2021
Diablo 4 game director Luis Barriga, Blizzard lead level designer Jesse McCree, and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft were let go from Blizzard on Wednesday, two sources with knowledge of the move told Kotaku. Read more