Since news of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing lawsuit broke, former and current employees at Activision Blizzard have continued to share horrific allegations, including stories of sexual harassment, racism, and sexism. In a new report from Kotaku, Activision Blizzard QA staffers have shared stories of their own, including accounts pertaining to the repeated deadnaming of transgender employees and unlivable wages.
In the report, Kotaku detailed how Activision Blizzard’s internal programs “default to legal names”, and higher ups must be contacted in order to change those names. Transgender employees at the company also run the risk of being outed, which can lead to dangerous and painful obstacles for trans individuals. Kotaku’s source, Andrew, explained, “HR is aware of this issue and has supposedly been talking with others to get the issue fixed, but this has been going on for [at least] a year.”
While Andrew noted he felt respected by his colleagues, he acknowledged others did not. Another employee, Billy, requested that a team of all men use they/them pronouns when addressing them, but the men on their team refused to comply. One man took things as far as using the “I identify as an attack helicopter” line, which comes from a transphobic internet meme that is used to harass trans and nonbinary people. Billy’s colleagues did not correct their behavior, and HR took months to respond to their request for help.
Activision Blizzard’s QA team is also allegedly forced to work grueling overtime hours, clocking in as much as 70 hours a week according to some accounts. Employee pay ranges from around $14-$17 per hour, which doesn’t even clear the $30-$40k range if you factor in overtime. It’s a salary that’s tough anywhere, but is especially cruel in places like Southern California or bigger cities in Texas. Employees also have few or no benefits – meaning there is little or no support for health insurance, PTO, or sick leave.
The story shared by Activision Blizzard’s QA team continues to illustrate how pervasive the toxic company culture is, according to numerous employee accounts. Last week, another report on Blizzard detailed just how far back some of these accounts go – prior to acquisition – and how they have continued to escalate under Activision since.
