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Activision Blizzard presidents promise crackdown on toxicity in company emails

In separate company-wide emails, Activision and Blizzard's presidents addressed the "deeply disturbing" allegations that came out recently.
TJ Denzer
TJ Denzer
2

This week showcased one of the most ugly scenarios that has ever been brought to light and aired in the video game industry. Recent allegations against Activision Blizzard and a lawsuit from California told a story of a “frat boy culture” work place that was hurtful towards lower workers and downright hostile towards women. With the lawsuit now ongoing and these allegations out in the open, both Activision’s president and Blizzard’s president issued company emails promising a change and a crackdown on deeply disturbing and toxic behavior.

The emails in question were reported in two separate instances. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier obtained a letter from Blizzard president J. Allen Brack that was sent through the Blizzard end of the company to all employees. Brack called the allegations “extremely troubling” and claimed he’d be meeting with employees to discuss how to move forward. Schreier also originally reported the allegations when the California lawsuit originally came to light.

Another email was also sent out on the Activision end of the business by president Rob Kostich, as reported by Polygon’s Nicole Carpenter. who said there was “zero tolerance” for the behavior described in the allegations “in our workplace or, frankly, in our society.” Kostich stated that it was not reflective of Activision values and encouraged workers to take advantage of HR and further resources available to them to report issues and secure comfort in the workplace.

The allegations that came to light tell an incredibly upsetting story, but it is hardly contained to Activision Blizzard. Ubisoft and Riot Games have also gone through a number of allegations and lawsuits with similarly disturbing situations described by victims of abuse and toxicity. To claim that any of this was unknown makes a troubling situation much worse, and with major leads having left Blizzard and Activision, it also becomes a question of who simply looked the other way in regards to much of this.

Stay tuned as we continue to follow the Activision Blizzard story and lawsuit for further updates and information.

Senior News Editor
Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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