This week's news recap begins with the ongoing coverage of the state of California DFEH's lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. The employees of both ActiBlizz and Ubisoft have taken a stand, and stories of their perseverance have been mixed in with the horrific reports of abuse. For the week of July 23 through July 30, we've summarized the most significant events in the lawsuit thus far, and we will also cover some of the biggest game stories of the week.
Important Stories In Activision Blizzard Lawsuit
With news of the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard breaking on July 21, this past week saw several stories arise detailing abuse and the company's response. Employees took to social media shortly after the lawsuit came to light to corroborate many of the details which prompted Activision Blizzard to make a statement. Initially, the company claimed the state of California was falsifying information, but CEO Bobby Kotick stepped in to say that the response was "tone-deaf."
In a letter filled mostly with platitudes, which would later be contradicted by the company's chief compliance officer, Kotick's statement to Activision Blizzard employees was not received well. As such, this past Wednesday, many of the workers at Activision Blizzard staged a walkout. Proudly stating "we will not be silenced," this protest inspired others in the industry to lend their voices in support of worker's rights. One such company was Ubisoft, another games industry giant that has been embroiled in controversy for the past year after allegations of workplace harassment.
Penning a letter of support signed by roughly 1,000 individuals, Ubisoft employees reiterated on recent reports that nothing has changed at the company over the last year. In an attempt to sway the opinion of its workers, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot issued an open letter to the company in a similar tone that we read from Kotick, but employees pushed back in a response saying, "do better or keep losing good people."
Throughout the week, Blizzard employees continued to share their stories, with one report detailing the "Crosby Suite" [sic], named after alleged rapist Bill Cosby. Photos from the report show several male higher-ups at Blizzard posing with a photo of Cosby, and coordinating their time at BlizzCon in a chat called "BlizzCon Cosby Crew."
In another account, an IT worker at the company had set up cameras in Activision's bathrooms in 2018. A security researcher also shared her story of looking to find work at the company in 2015, in which she was asked if she "liked being penetrated" at a job fair. A customer service representative that worked for the company between 2014 and 2017 was paid less than her ex-boyfriend for the same role and was messaged by managers stating she was "into freaky stuff" and asking about which pornography she enjoyed.
Activision Blizzard has now hired a law firm known for busting up unions to investigate the company after the lawsuit. There was an explanation of new "discussion sessions," which are common anti-labor measures to prevent employees from banding together.
Related: Do Not Cross The Activision Blizzard Picket Line During The Walkout
The Last Of Us, Destiny, And God Of War Devs Open Studio With $100 Million Investment
It’s always exciting when some of your favorite game creators get to break away from their corporate overlords to form a studio of their own. That’s exactly what happened this week when news broke of triple-A indie developer That’s No Moon being founded. Consisting of members that worked on the likes of The Last of Us, Destiny, God of War, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the company was able to come together with a $100 million investment from outside investors.
“As a new studio, we are building a collaborative and inclusive culture, where people of all backgrounds, ideologies, orientations, and identities are treated equitably and with respect,” said co-founder Michael Mumbauer (ex-head of PlayStation visual arts group). That's No Moon hasn't announced the title of its new project just yet, but it did describe the game as, "an ambitious AAA singleplayer third-person action-adventure game led by Taylor Kurosaki as Creative Director and Jacob Minkoff as Game Director."
Panic's Tiny Handheld, Playdate, Sells 20,000 Units In 20 Minutes
If you weren't quick to act, you may have missed out on the tiny new handheld from developer Panic, the Playdate. The first wave of pre-orders had 20,000 units to go through, and sold out in a speedy 20 minutes.
If you wanted to quickly dive into the platform's first season of adorably-sized games, then the situation is certainly crummy. Panic has promised though that it will have another shipment ready in 2022. As for now, the Playdate has unfortunately joined a growing list of devices that can't seem to stay in stock long enough to meet demand, a situation that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and scalping.
Mass Effect Infographic Shows Mordin Doesn't Get Any Love
In the middle of the week, BioWare released an infographic with stats from players of the recently released Mass Effect Legendary Edition. While the majority of choices that players made were predictable, there was one particular outlier in the stats: Nobody seems to like Mordin.
Out of the 12 possible companions that can survive in Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission, Mordin ranked dead last. Unsurprisingly, Garrus ranked first and Tali came in a close second. Poor Mordin, though, is most likely to bite the bullet according to these stats. Considering he can literally save an entire species with his medical skills, that’s a real travesty.
Skyrim Player Leaps Off Cliff To Prove Khajiit "Always Land On Their Feet"
You know the old saying that “cats always land on their feet”? Well, one Redditor was determined to prove that the Khajiit race in Skyrim (which are, essentially, humanoid cats) would live up to the adage. Surprisingly not tested in the popular open-world game before, a new clip shows that Khajiit certainly live up to their real-life inspiration.
In a rather fascinating clip, you can see the player utilizing a trick that slows their descent in mid-air by dropping items while descending. Technically cheating, the Khajiit eventually hits the ground and doesn’t flop over. They land on their feet and are ready to collect all of their gear again.
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