The state of California recently filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for discrimination, and many details about the investigation continue to emerge. One big detail that has had a light shone on it recently is the "Bill Cosby Suite."
Blizzard Entertainment employees recently gave Kotaku some details about this detail of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit. Included among the allegations made in the lawsuit were mentions of a BlizzCon 2013 hotel room known as the Bill Cosby Suite. Although pictures that have emerged include a framed portrait of the convicted actor in this hotel room, it was more than just a distasteful name.
According to a former developer at Blizzard, former World of Warcraft creative director Alex Afrasiabi kept the Bill Cosby Suite loaded with alcohol and would pose with others next to a large portrait of Cosby. Others in the know claim the hotel room was also a hot spot for informal networking at BlizzCon.
Fans of Blizzard looking to get their foot in the door at Blizzard during BlizzCon 2013 would allegedly go to the Cosby Suite in order to meet with top designers at the company. A recently spotted Facebook Album also points to a BlizzCon 2013 Cosby Crew in which former Blizzard designer David Kosak said, “I am gathering the hot chixx for the Coz.” Afrasiabi responded to Kosak with "bring 'em" before being told he can't marry them all.
Among the Blizzard employees sharing these distasteful jokes at BlizzCon was Lead Game Designer Cory Stockton, and former Blizzard developer and current Riot Games developer Greg Street. The Facebook Album they were all commenting on also featured the framed portrait of Cosby photographed from a variety of angles, held by several different people.
Several Blizzard Entertainment employees were photographed in the Cosby Suite, but one image also shows a group of women sitting on a bed in the hotel room with the Cosby portrait. According to people familiar with the BlizzCon 2013 Cosby Suite, Cosby's reputation was the inspiration behind taking photos with the portrait.
According to one person who was allegedly familiar with the Cosby Suite, the hotel room was merely inspired by the ugly sweaters the comedian typically wore. Another Kotaku source claimed that the suite's name was in reference to an ugly boardroom room with similar ugly patterns at Blizzard Entertainment’s main office.
One former Blizzard employee has disputed the claims that the Cosby Suite mentioned in the Activision Blizzard lawsuit was named after an ugly board room. According to them, the ugly board room was allegedly replaced when Activision Blizzard moved to its new Irvine, California campus in 2008. Bill Cosby had faced sexual assault allegations by the time BlizzCon 2013 took place, but the comedian was officially arrested in 2015.
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Source: Kotaku
