Come on Activision/Blizzard be better

Here is a series of tweets that describe what went on there (click the tweet below to see his followups)

What a crappy company. Pay woman right. Dang sexist pigs.

I really don't care anymore. Don't buy their games if you don't like their practices. What's the argument these days? Private company can do what they want?

Quit being a Karen and put your money where your mouth is.

Trash company is trash.

Really? Quit being a Karen? This is more than complaining to a manager, this is a human rights issue. Perhaps we need to
quit being a Karen" over racism too. 🙄

Not buying their games as an individual literally changes nothing. This makes you solution simply useless and devoid of actual thought.

I stopped supporting Acti/Blizz in 2019 when they decided to bend the knee to oppressive governments.

Spineless fuucks.

They have proven time and time again they don't care about anything but making as much money as possible for their shareholders which I view as a harmful practice.

It's not a matter of 'be better'. They are a machine that will continue to operate like this. They will push and push and take whatever they can to maximize profit at the expense of morality and human resources. It's very unlikely anything will change under the current leadership unless it is forced.

@regnaston: I really wish they would. All that's happened by calling all white people racist is the creation of more racists.

@Pedro: All they understand is money. Enough people stop buying their products, they don't get paid.

That requires awareness, the very thing you are criticizing another poster about. However, it doesn't change the uselessness of your suggestion being guised as a solution.

@Pedro: Well I suppose you could go all torch and pitch forks on them like every internet mob. Internet mobs now attack people IRL and look to kill them. Perhaps that'll work?

I've said this before but Activision-Blizzard made $447 million in profits a few years ago, paid zero in taxes, cut 800 jobs, and still got $228 million in tax payer credits that same year. You can effectively boycott all their products and they will still make money off of you with tax havens. They are just too big to fail.

It is clear that you are not taking too well to the fact that your argument is falling apart.

@Pedro: Actually, you've provided no alternative means to prevent these actions. I have. You provided nothing.

Criticizing a company for treating its employees like shit is "being a Karen" now?

@lebanese_boy: Over and over and over? Yeah. It's beating a dead horse. We all know they're shit. So don't buy their games.

And why is the critique of Activision-Blizzard bothering you so much?

Wow. There’s a whole lot of **** going on over at Activision/Blizzard. Really need a good cleansing to happen over there.

@lebanese_boy: I'm sick of hearing about it while the same people bitching keep buying their games. Grow a pair.

You are under the false impression that I needed to provide an alternative to your solution which was devoid of any sound logic thought.

Why are we all feigning shock that Activision is a dubious manager?

Nothing stands between them and the bottom line.

@Telekill: I agree it's annoying to constantly hear about this stuff but I bet you it isn't the same people bitching that are also buying their games. I think it's pretty safe to say that we here on these sites that are informed about all the videogame happenings are the minority. The majority of people who buy the next COD, and the next COD, and the next FIFA, and on and on are just casual people. They aren't informed about all the crap that goes on or they just don't care. These people are the casual masses that just flock to the nearby Walmart and go "where's the new Call of Duty?", pick up their copy, and go home year after year.

It's a damn shame as I feel like if more people would oppose certain practices that go on with new iterations of these franchises then perhaps actual boycotts could happen. But it won't.

@Pedro: I appreciate you confirming that you're nothing but a troll with no solutions.

Yeah but why is this bothering you this much? People often bitch for trivial stuff but at least here there are valid reasons to bitch about.

If this somehow bothers you then the solution for you should be obvious and quite simple.

And the meltdown begins...

It's a noble sentiment to just say ... "don't buy their games" but sadly it won't work, they would first cut tons of jobs to maximize profits, they would screw several hundreds of hard working people to get revenues on their fiscal years, etc, etc ... those guys won't ever step down even if you stop buying their games, this guys need to be forced out of their positions.

@madsnakehhh: And they're in the midst of various lawsuits for how many months now to do just that? The cards are in play to remove them. For now... don't buy their games.

@Telekill: Again, i doubt is that easy ... even Blizzard employees were begging people to not stop buying their games because they count on sales to earn their bonus and keep their jobs. In the end, not buying their games will not stop Kotick from making a trillion dollars a year, but it will probably prevent Average Joe to pay his mortgage on time.

As if I'm not already doing that. But more needs to be done in sh**y workplaces like this. And COD bombing in sales, alongside losing stocks is a start.

I am quite surprised that there are no activist investors who feel the need to do something, such as buying stocks in Activision/Blizzard, which allows them to choose the members of the company's board of directors (who can decide the fate of its executives, including CEO Bobby Kotick).

Yeah, but let's not put this all on Blizzard; it's important to remember this is Activision-Blizzard-King (or ABK).

I only say that because people want to hate on Blizzard for being Blizzard, but this problem is a lot larger than your dislike for WoW or because Diablo 3 was too colorful or whatever.

With that said, hopefully the poor sales of CoD Vanguard are a sign that people are catching on not only to the poor product development of these larger corporations, but also their poor ethics.

That's one perspective. Another is that by calling racists what they are, you pull them out of hiding and it becomes apparent just how many racists there really still are out there.

Well the initial case from recent months had them settle for like $18 million or something. That's nothing to these people, it's a joke. They make that much in a day.

Strong action needs to be taken; for starters, break up the company into [at least] three different companies. Fines and tolerance workshops aren't enough these days, we need to make the idea of mistreating employees so abhorrent no corporation dares do it.

Oh, Bobby...

Does the male have more experience than the female? Is he better qualified?

Or do we just look at the same positions and assume they should make the same?

You offered a thoughtless "solution" and I call you out on it. Now you are upset because you have been exposed.🤷🏽‍♂️

Since the backlash is related to a minority, and we're in 2021, i wouldn't be surprised if this is enough to make even Bobby resign. Now that would be something.

If this has happened in 2005, nothing would come out of it.

@hardwenzen: Honestly, I don't think anything's gonna happen. The board's still on his side, and firing him would cost the company actual millions. That's just how big corpos are I guess.

Sounds like Bobby Kotick‘s time as Activision/Blizzard’s CEO may be coming to an end. Apparently he threatened to have an employee killed. Yikes! If true he shouldn’t just be ousted he should also be put up on criminal charges.

It's an unfortunate consequence of centuries of workplace discrimination that, even today, men can still often be more confident in salary negotiations than women. Also silly Activision didn't see this PR disaster coming a mile off.

When you are a rich creep and all your friends are rich creeps AND you know that you are too rich for consequences, why would you ever see it coming?

@rmpumper: No doubt they're awful people - that goes for pretty much any exec in any field.

You can be sued for paying women less? Why isn't every woman suing everyone?

A group of Activision Blizzard shareholders has called for the resignation of CEO Bobby Kotick in a letter to the company's board of directors.

The letter follows a damning report from the Wall Street Journal that claims Kotick was aware of sexual misconduct within the company.

It also follows a walkout from Activision Blizzard staff in protest.

"In contrast to past company statements, CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of many incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender discrimination at Activision Blizzard, but failed either to ensure that the executives and managers responsible were terminated or to recognize and address the systematic nature of the company's hostile workplace culture," the shareholders wrote in a joint letter from the Strategic Organising Center (SOC) Investment Group, shared with the Washington Post.

The letter is also calling for the resignation of Brian Kelly (chairman of the Activision Blizzard board of directors) and Robert Morgado (lead independent director). They are the two longest-standing members of the board: Kelly since 1995 and Morgado since 1997.

In the letter, shareholders said that if Kotick, Kelly and Morgado didn't step down, the group would not vote for the re-election of the current directors on the board at the next annual shareholders meeting in June, and would urge other shareholders to do the same.

"After the new revelations, it's clear that the current leadership repeatedly failed to uphold a safe workplace - a basic function of their job," said SOC executive director Dieter Waizenegger in an interview.

"Activision Blizzard needs a new CEO, board chair, and lead independent director with the expertise, skill set and conviction to truly change the company's culture. We need to really have a reset button on the board."

Activision Blizzard's board of directors has already issued a statement defending Kotick, saying it "remains confident" in Kotick's "leadership, commitment and ability".

This is what happens to your company when you hire mentally ill people