Reports over the last few weeks have shown that Blizzard's sexist workplace culture is deeply embedded, in stark contrast to the initial denial of the allegations levied against it in the California DFEH lawsuit. Now we're finding out that Activision's interference may have made those problems even worse.
A new report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier features interviews with several current and former Blizzard staff, who paint a grim picture of the company. One notable aspect of the report centered around Warcraft 3: Reforged, the failed Warcraft 3 remaster. Perhaps Blizzard's biggest flop, the game received such horrible reviews that it prompted Activision management to dissolve the team that worked on it.
According to Schreier, Activision's influence "pushed Blizzard staff to hit unrealistic deadlines and do more work with fewer resources, increasing stress and overtime across all levels." Under constant threat of layoffs, Blizzard devs suffered from "exhaustion, anxiety, depression, and more."
Under Activision's supervision, Blizzard managers only continued to foster a culture of alleged workplace abuse and misconduct. "With budget cuts constantly looming, managers of each department have jockeyed for resources. As a result, some are reluctant to report internal problems and risk drawing unwanted attention to their teams from corporate overlords."
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With managers staying silent for fear of losing their jobs, reports of inappropriate behavior were more likely to be buried than lead to remedial action. The company's chief compliance officer, Frances F. Townsend, alleged that the stories surfacing from the lawsuit included "factually inaccurate, old, and out of context stories – some from more than a decade ago." While reports do document abuse dating back to over a decade ago, this latest update directly contradicts the idea that Blizzard has addressed the crisis under Activision.
Now that Blizzard's problems have drawn a lawsuit from the state of California, Activision management has promised swift action against managers that don't immediately report bad behavior. Other immediate changes include the departure of former Blizzard president J. Allen Brack and the review of all Activision Blizzard games for inappropriate content.
However, Activision Blizzard has made no effort to respond to employee demands after last week's walkout. Such demands included the end of forced arbitration for all employees, worker participation in hiring and promotion policies, as well as greater pay transparency and a third-party audit of all HR policies.
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