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Activision's Damage Control Reaches Sad New Low
23.11.2021
Faced with internal unrest, plummeting share prices and a growing public relations disaster, the men and women at the very top of Activision Blizzard—the senior executives and board of directors—should all be resigning. Instead, they’ve put out a desperate press release in the middle of the night...
Report: Nintendo Of America President Says Activision's Harassment Stories Are 'Distressing And Disturbing'
23.11.2021
Activision’s self-serving response to historic allegations of abuse and misogyny in its workplace has been drawing a lot of criticism lately, from shareholders demanding the resignation of CEO Bobby Kotick to staff staging multiple walkouts. Now Nintendo of America has reportedly joined the chorus...
Report: Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Will 'Consider' Quitting If He Can't 'Fix' Company's Culture
22.11.2021
Besieged Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who last week was the subject of staff walkouts and shareholder calls for his resignation, has reportedly said he will “consider leaving the company” if he can’t speedily address the harassment issues that have made headlines around the world this...
Report: Activision Took Years To Fire Someone Who Signed Emails '1-800-ALLCOCK'
20.11.2021
A California lawsuit earlier this year alleged sexual harassment, discrimination, and a pervasive “frat boy culture” at Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard. At least in one instance, that culture included an employee signing all of his work emails as “1-800-ALLCOCK.” Read more
Girls Who Code Ends Relationship With Activision Blizzard Following Latest Revelations
19.11.2021
Nonprofit organization Girls Who Code, which specializes in teaching computer science to young women and other marginalized groups, will no longer affiliate itself with Activision Blizzard, after the multibillion-dollar corporation came under fire yet again in a scathing new round...
Over 1200 Activision Blizzard Employees Sign Petition Demanding CEO Bobby Kotick Quit
19.11.2021
The ABK Workers Alliance, a group of Activision Blizzard workers formed in response to the company’s treatment of its employees, began circulating a petition earlier today for anyone working at the publisher’s studios and offices to sign. It has now been endorsed by over 1200 workers.Read more
Xbox Boss 'Disturbed' By What's Going On At Activision Blizzard, Reconsidering Relationship
18.11.2021
Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, sent an email to staff calling the latest wave of allegations about Activision Blizzard deeply troubling, as first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed to Kotaku by Microsoft PR. Spencer joins a growing list of developers, shareholders, and game industry executives...
Let's Meet The Board Members Supporting Besieged Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick
18.11.2021
Activision Blizzard has had a nightmarish 2021, with historic allegations of harassment causing enormous upheaval at the company, several high-profile lawsuits and the departure (or firings) of many key executives and developers. You would think that this mess would fall at the feet of...
PlayStation Boss Calls Out Activision Following Dire Kotick Revelations
17.11.2021
As the wider gaming world reacts to yesterday’s latest wave of allegations against senior figures at Activision, including the reigning world champion of hubris-before-a-fall, CEO Bobby Kotick, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan expressed his disappointment at Activision’s response. In an email sent...
Bobby Kotick Actually Wrote Fran Townsend's Deranged, Company-Wide Email
16.11.2021
Earlier this year, an email was sent to all employees of Activision Blizzard from the email account of Chief Compliance Officer, former Executive Sponsor of the ABV Employee Women’s Network and former Torture Apologist Fran Townsend. Sent in the midst of historic allegations of harassment against...
Calls For Bobby Kotick’s Resignation Intensify As Employees Stage Walkout
16.11.2021
Social media is aflame with demands that video game industry exec Bobby Kotick resign from his position as CEO of Activision Blizzard in the wake of reporting from The Wall Street Journal about his own terrible treatment of women. Leading the charge are Activision Blizzard employees themselves,...
Blizzard's First Woman Co-Head Resigned Due To Being 'Tokenized, Marginalized, And Discriminated Against'
16.11.2021
Amongst the latest wave of troubling revelations to come out of Activision Blizzard, the Wall Street Journal reports that former exec Jennifer Oneal’s incredibly brief stint as co-head of Blizzard ended due to her being “tokenized, marginalized, and discriminated against.”Read more
Report: Activision's Bobby Kotick Didn't Just Know, He Also Mistreated Women
16.11.2021
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick claimed to be in the dark about widespread allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination that surfaced at the company earlier this year, but according to a new bombshell report by The Wall Street Journal, Kotick wasn’t just aware of the misconduct, he...
New Overwatch Comic Shows McCree Getting Existential On Name Change
10.11.2021
After receiving a name change last month, Overwatch’s Cole Cassidy has made his debut in a new digital comic series. The first issue of a five-part series by Dark Horse Comics, titled New Blood, sees the cowboy wrestling with his past as he embarks on a journey to become someone different. It’s...
Why Everyone Is Talking About Twitch Star Hasan Piker's New Merch Line
10.11.2021
Popular socialist streamer Hasan Piker did a cool thing earlier this week: he launched a new line of merch aimed at supporting workers. In addition to the clothes being made by union shops, some of the profits are also going to strike funds to help pro-labor causes across the country. The store...
Activision Blizzard Devs Win Better Pay And PTO For Contractors
9.11.2021
The publisher behind Call of Duty: Vanguard and World of Warcraft announced yesterday that it would be improving pay and paid-time-off for contractors at the company, including raising the minimum hourly rate to $17 and paying them even during holiday breaks. The changes came amid renewed scrutiny...
Ubisoft Announces Pay Raises To Stop Developers From Leaving
7.11.2021
Ubisoft’s Canadian studios announced pay raises for staff at the Asssassin’s Creed and Far Cry publisher to combat an exodus by many of its most senior developers, Kotaku has learned. While the raises are across the bored, sources tell Kotaku that those who currently earn the most will see...
We Are Still Living With The Revolution GTA 3 Started
5.11.2021
Grand Theft Auto III launched 20 years ago to rave reviews and mainstream media controversy around its realistic depiction of violence and mayhem in an open-world parody of New York City. Next week Rockstar Games is bringing it back, now as a remastered artifact from a bygone era. Has it aged like...
Frustrated Ubisoft Workers Are Asking For Your Help So The Company Doesn't Ignore Them
5.11.2021
Game developers associated with the ABetterUbisoft group are petitioning the Assassin’s Creed publisher for a seat at the table, and a “meaningful say in how Ubisoft as a company moves forward.” The move to enlist the support of fans and other developers in its push for change comes just months...
Blizzard Games Aren’t Doing So Great Lately
3.11.2021
Blizzard is in the eye of a storm. In the wake of a departing studio head and two major delays of anticipated games, the Diablo and Overwatch developer is bleeding players across the board, as it revealed during an Activision Blizzard earnings call last night. Across its portfolio, the studio’s...