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The Year In Gaming Apologies
16.12.2021
Video games had a lot to be sorry for in 2021, from the usual screenshot apologies over delays and busted launches, to things that actually matter like years of reported workplace abuse. Don’t worry though, everyone’s trying to do better.Read more
Inside The Revolt That Led To Activision Blizzard Workers' Historic Unionization Push
9.12.2021
Several Call of Duty developers have revealed to Kotaku that Activision Blizzard’s internal unwillingness to directly respond to the recently announced Raven Software layoffs was what ultimately sparked the just-revealed, broader labor organizing effort at the troubled publisher. Read more
Activision Blizzard Devs Announce Work Stoppage And Strike Fund
9.12.2021
Employees at publishing giant Activision Blizzard, who formed the ABK Worker Alliance, have called on supporters today to donate to a strike fund. They have announced their intention to stop working, in protest of their management’s ongoing response to months of lawsuits and reports about...
Sexually Harassed Activision Blizzard Employee Holds Press Conference To Demand Apologies, Money
8.12.2021
Today, a woman named Christine who works at major game publisher Activision Blizzard held a press conference with her lawyer Lisa Bloom to describe the sexual harassment she experienced at the company. This is the latest in the ongoing battle between Activision Blizzard and its employees...
Call Of Duty: Warzone Devs Stage Walkout Over Layoffs
6.12.2021
Quality assurance testers and other developers at Raven Software, the Activision studio in charge of the extremely lucrative free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone, are walking out on the job today to protest surprise layoffs that were foisted on staff beginning last Friday. The group...
Call of Duty QA Testers Face Layoffs After Reportedly Being Promised Raises By Activision
4.12.2021
Today, contract testers at the Call of Duty studio Raven Software were told that the studio would face layoffs on January 28th of next year, a Call of Duty community manager said on Twitter. A source familiar with the goings-on at the company confirmed to Kotaku that for the next few days in early...
The Game Awards Won't Take Sides On Activision Fallout To Focus On Reveals
3.12.2021
As Geoff Keighley’s annual Game Awards show enters its eighth year, the creator and host told The Washington Post today that he’s still thinking about how to “navigate” Activision Blizzard’s involvement in the ceremony following the latest reports of sexual misconduct at the publisher.Read more
Government Officials Pressuring Activision Blizzard Are Now Threatening The Company's Profits
1.12.2021
State treasurers from California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon, Delaware, and Nevada are calling on Activision Blizzard to take more serious measures in addressing ongoing high-profile investigations and lawsuits about the company’s troubling culture. According to Axios, said treasurers have...
Right-Wing Group Wants Bobby Kotick Removed From Coca-Cola's Board
1.12.2021
The National Legal and Policy Center, a right-wing organisation that “promotes ethics in public life”, has written to Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey asking that he “immediately seek the resignation” of besieged Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick from the company’s board of directors,...
Bobby Kotick Has Always Been A Siimy Douchebag
24.11.2021
Bobby Kotick is a weasel of the highest order. And while he may finally be facing a reckoning for some of his actions as CEO of Activision Blizzard, it’s been a long time coming.Read more
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...