BRO CULTURE IS RAPE CULTURE

Facing a "challenging time", Activision Blizzard announces formation of Workplace Responsibility Committee

The latest poorly-judged move from Activision Blizzard includes a press release pushed out in the dead of night that doesn't mention its 10,000+ employees.

News by Dom PeppiattContributor

Published on 23 Nov, 2021

Another day, another development in the messy, appalling saga that is Activision Blizzard's response to its ongoing sexual harrassment lawsuit.

Following reports that Bobby Kotick apparently discussed stepping down as Activision Blizzard boss, the company's board slipped out a press release at 10.30pm EST detailing the formation of a "Workplace Responsibility Committee".

The press release, written in dense HR-centric language, basically notes that this new committee will oversee Activision Blizzard’s progress in "successfully implementing its new policies, procedures, and commitments to improve workplace culture and eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination at the company". You can read about some of the proposed policies here, though it's worth noting that they won't necessarily apply to Kotick himself. Hm.

The new Workplace Responsibility Committee will consist of the only two women on Activision Blizzard's 10-person board of directors (a board which has stood behind Kotick as calls for his resignation mount up), though Activision notes "a new, diverse director" will soon be added to the board, too.

"The committee will require management to develop key performance indicators and/or other means to measure progress and ensure accountability," reads the press release. "The chief executive officer, Bobby Kotick, along with the chief people officer and chief compliance officer will provide frequent progress reports to the committee, which will regularly brief the full board. The committee is empowered to retain outside consultants or advisers, including independent legal counsel, to assist in its work."

So, basically, the committee can get advice from outside sources and lawyer up, but there's no reference at all to how it can (or should) interact with the actual workforce. You know, the people making all these complaints and the reason state and federal agencies are investigating the company.

"Formation of the committee and additional future changes will help facilitate additional direct oversight and transparency and ensure that the company’s commitments to Activision Blizzard’s workforce are carried out with urgency and impact," the press release continues. "This has been a challenging time across the company, but the board is confident in the actions underway to set the company up for future success."

It's worth noting, at this point, that this press release is directed at investors – some of which have also called for Kotick's resignation.

Given that PlayStation and Xbox bosses are planning to re-evaluate their relationship with Activision Blizzard, the formation of this Committee may not be enough.

Nintendo Joins Sony And Xbox In Calling Activision Blizzard Crisis 'Disturbing'

Doug Bowser finds recent reports “distressing”

By Ryan Leston
Updated: 23 Nov 2021 

Nintendo has joined the likes of Sony and Xbox, speaking out against Activision Blizzard due to recent reports of sexual misconduct and toxicity.

In a new report by Fanbyte, Doug Bowser reportedly expressed concern over the ongoing situation at Activision Blizzard in a company-wide email, calling the allegations "distressing and disturbing."

“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company,” he explained. “I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies.

Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Timeline: The Story So Far

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The email reportedly goes on to explain that Nintendo is committed to providing an “open and inclusive” workplace and expects the same from the industry and its partners. Bowser also states that Nintendo has been “in contact with Activision, have taken action and are assessing others.” Although the email apparently stops short of giving further details.

However, the Nintendo chief does reportedly confirm that the company has been working with the ESA – a lobbying organization in which both Nintendo and Activision Blizzard are members. Bowser wrote that Nintendo has been working with the ESA since last week in order to “strengthen its stances on harassment and abuse in the workplace”.

“Every company in the industry must create an environment where everyone is respected and treated as equals,” the email reads. “And where all understand the consequences of not doing so.”

IGN has reached out to Nintendo of America for comment but has yet to receive a response at the time of publishing.

Xbox Boss 'Disturbed and Deeply Troubled' By Latest Activision Reports - IGN Now

Nintendo’s comments follow PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan who is said to be "disheartened and frankly stunned" by the Activision Blizzard scandal. Xbox boss Phil Spencer also added that he is “disturbed and deeply troubled” by the ongoing events.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has found himself under pressure to resign, and has reportedly told the company he would consider stepping down if he’s unable to quickly fix the ongoing issues at the company.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Nintendo Of America President Joins PlayStation And Xbox Counterparts In Criticism Of Activision Blizzard

"They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs"

• by Liam Doolan  Yesterday, 

• 
  

Image: Nintendo

Update: Nintendo has now officially confirmed this in a PR response to Fanbyte:

“We can confirm the content of Doug Bowser’s internal email to Nintendo of America staff is accurate. We have nothing further to share on this topic.”

---

Nintendo of America's president Doug Bowser last week issued an internal response to ongoing reports about allegations of misconduct at Activision Blizzard.

Bowser's email, which has been publicly shared by Fanbyte, was sent out on 19th November and reached "all levels" of Nintendo of America - including internal development houses such as Retro Studios (Metroid Prime 4) and the recently acquired Canadian team Next Level Games (Luigi's Mansion 3).

Bowser mentioned how "distressing and disturbing" the reports were and said every company in the industry was responsible for creating an environment where everyone is treated as an equal:

“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company. I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies.”

“Every company in the industry must create an environment where everyone is respected and treated as equals, and where all understand the consequences of not doing so.”

His email further states how Nintendo has committed itself to an open and inclusive workplace - welcoming everyone - and expects the same from the rest of the industry and its partners.

Nintendo's representatives have apparently been “in contact with Activision, have taken action, and are assessing others." Bowser mentioned how Nintendo has been working with the ESA (a lobbying organisation Activision is also a member of) encouraging it to strengthen its stances on harassment and hold its members to the highest standard.

Both Sony and Microsoft are also reportedly re-evaluating their relationship with Activision Blizzard. You can read more in our previous stories:

• Activision Blizzard Boss Bobby Kotick Is Reportedly Open To Quitting As Abuse Claims Rock The Company
• Activision Blizzard Employees Stage A Walkout Calling For CEO Bobby Kotick's Resignation

Dozens ‘exited’ Activision Blizzard over misconduct, CEO tried to keep departures quiet: report

MobileSyrup 


Thirty-seven employees have “exited” from Activision Blizzard amid the gaming publisher’s workplace misconduct scandals, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing internal documents.

A further 44 employees have been disciplined, Activision Blizzard spokesperson Helaine Klasky told the outlet.

Since last summer, the company has been facing a lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleging years of fostering a “frat boy culture” that led to sexual harassment, unfair hiring practices and other forms of mistreatment of women.

However, given the ambiguity surrounding the word “exited,” it’s unclear exactly how many of those 37 people left voluntarily versus being pushed out. Likewise, Activision Blizzard wouldn’t specify exactly what form of disciplinary action has been taken against the 44 other employees.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Activision Blizzard collected around 700 employee complaints who expressed concerns of workplace misconduct, although the company denied this to the outlet. Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO, also reportedly shut down the release of a company report summarizing all of the above information to address the allegations. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kotick felt the report would make the company’s issues seem bigger than what has already been revealed.

Kotick himself has been the subject of immense scrutiny, especially following a November report from The Wall Street Journal alleging that he not only knew about the “frat boy culture,” but actively worked to keep it quiet. More than 1,000 Activision Blizzard employees quickly signed a petition calling for Kotick to resign, although the executive has said he would only consider doing so if the workplace issues aren’t fixed “with speed.”

Activision Blizzard is also facing a strike from dozens of developers at its Raven studio, which works on its massively popular Call of Duty: Warzone game. The workers were protesting the sudden termination of a dozen quality assurance (QA) contractors. The ABK Workers Alliance, which represents employees at Activision, Blizzard and King, has condemned the company for its “silence” over these protests.

All the while, Warzone players have been reporting numerous bugs in the game. Speaking to The Washington Post, multiple unnamed QA testers attributed these issues to the QA workers who were laid off from Raven. “You can’t just lose some of your hardest-working people and expect nothing to happen,” one of them told The Washington Post.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support the ABK Workers Alliance — you can check that out here.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Activision fired dozens over harassment allegations: WSJ

By AFP
Published January 17, 2022

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, has defended his handling of harassment complaints, as some employees staged a walkout calling for him to go - Copyright AFP Daniel ROLAND

The video game giant Activision Blizzard has fired nearly 40 employees and disciplined about 40 others since July as it deals with allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct, The Wall Street Journal said Monday.

The newspaper, which quoted people familiar with the situation, said that over the past seven months the company has also received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault or harassment or other misconduct, in some cases separate reports about the same incident.

A summary of the personnel action that the maker of “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft” and other blockbuster games has taken was scheduled to be released before the winter holidays, the Journal said.

But CEO Bobby Kotick delayed the release, arguing that it would make the company’s workplace problems look even bigger than they were known to be, the paper added.

Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

In July, California state regulators accused the company of condoning a culture of harassment, a toxic work environment, and inequality.

In September the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe into the company over “disclosures regarding employment matters and related issues.”

And two months later the Journal reported that Kotick, accused of mishandling the harassment complaints, has signaled he would consider stepping down if he failed to quicky fix the company culture. He has led the company for more than three decades.

Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard’s 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for Kotick to resign.

The Journal said the company is under pressure from shareholders and business partners for more accountability over its handling of misconduct issues.

Late last year chief operating officer Daniel Alegre pledged a 50 percent increase in female and non-binary staff over the next five years so that they will account for more than a third of Activision’s workers.

Activision Blizzard continues to remove employees amid misconduct allegations

Kris Holt 

ENDGADGET

Since July, 37 Activision Blizzard employees have been fired or forced out and another 44 have been disciplined as the company attempts to address accusations of harassment and misconduct, a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. In October, the company said more than 20 people had departed and at least another 20 had been disciplined.

The game publisher was supposed to share a summary of that information publicly before the holidays, according to the report. However, embattled CEO Bobby Kotick is said to have pulled the plug on that over concerns it would make Activision's woes seem even worse.

The spokesperson denied "the assertion regarding Mr. Kotick," as well as claims that employees had filed around 700 reports of misconduct and other issues since July, when Activision was sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The agency alleged the company fostered a "frat boy" culture where discrimination and sexual harassment were rife.

Former Blizzard president J. Allen Brack, who was accused in the DFEH suit of taking "no effective remedial measures" to mitigate sexual harassment, left the company soon after the filing. Activision Blizzard's top HR executive Jesse Meschuk has departed, as have Diablo 4 game director Luis Barriga, lead designer Jesse McCree (after whom an Overwatch character was previously named) and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft.

In November, the WSJreported that Kotick had known about many of the worst instances of abuse for years and that he may have protected some employees who were accused of harassment. Many Activision Blizzard employees staged a walkout in the wake of the report and around 2,000 signed a petition calling for him to step down. The Activision board has issued a statement of support for Kotick.

Along with employees, state treasurers and investors (the share price has dropped by almost 30% since July) have expressed concern about the issues at hand. Several Activision Blizzard partners have condemned the company or reassessed their relationships with it too.

PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo chiefs criticized the company in notes to their employees. Xbox head Phil Spencer said last week that Microsoft has "changed how we do certain things with" Activision, but didn't share details. Also this month, Lego postponed an Overwatch 2 set that was supposed to arrive in February while it evaluates its partnership with Activision Blizzard.

 

Activision Blizzard staff sign letter condemning company's "abhorrent" response to abuse allegations

"We call for official statements that recognise the seriousness of these allegations"

News by Imogen BeckhellingNews Writer

Published on 27 Jul, 2021

Over 1000 current and former Activision Blizzard employees have signed a letter rebuking the company's response to serious allegations of harassment and abuse. Last week, it came to light that the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment (DFEH) were suing Activision Blizzard over an alleged culture of sexual harrassment and discrimination. At the time, the company issued a statement claiming the suit included information that was "distorted, and in many cases false". But now staff past and present are calling for new official statements "that recognise the seriousness of these allegations and demonstrate compassion for victims of harassment and assault".

After a two-year investigation into the company, DFEH's lawsuit alleges that Activision Blizzard harboured a "frat boy" culure that involved "male employees drinking and subjecting female employees to sexual harassment with no repercussion." The filing includes a number of disturbing allegations as well, and Activision Blizzard's response suggests that these behaviours are in the past.

Now in a letter signed by Blizzard employees, which was shared with Bloomberg (watch out for the paywall), staff say the statements made both publicly and internally about the lawsuit are "abhorrent and insulting", creating "a company atmosphere that disbelieves victims".

In particular, it calls for Activision Blizzard executive Frances Townsend to step down as the Executive Sponsor of the company's Employee's Women's Network, after a leaked email she sent to staff internally rejected the lawsuit's claims, calling it "meritless and irresponsible".

Here's the employees' letter in full:

"To the Leaders of Activision Blizzard,

"We, the undersigned, agree that the statements from Activision Blizzard, Inc. and their legal counsel regarding the DFEH lawsuit, as well as the subsequent internal statement from Frances Townsend, are abhorrent and insulting to all that we believe our company should stand for. To put it clearly and unequivocally, our values as employees are not accurately reflected in the words and actions of our leadership.

"We believe these statements have damaged our ongoing quest for equality inside and outside of our industry. Categorising the claims that have been made as 'distorted, and in many cases false' creates a company atmosphere that disbelieves victims. It also casts doubt on our organisations' ability to hold abusers accountable for their actions and foster a safe environment for victims to come forward in the future. These statements make it clear that our leadership is not putting our values first. Immediate corrections are needed from the highest level of our organization.

"Our company executives have claimed that actions will be taken to protect us, but in the face of legal action - and the troubling official responses that followed - we no longer trust that our leaders will place employee safety above their own interests. To claim this is a 'truly meritless and irresponsible lawsuit,' while seeing so many current and former employees speak out about their own experiences regarding harassment and abuse, is simply unacceptable.

"We call for official statements that recognise the seriousness of these allegations and demonstrate compassion for victims of harassment and assault. We call on Frances Townsend to stand by her word to step down as Executive Sponsor of the ABK Employee Women's Network as a result of the damaging nature of her statement. We call on the executive leadership team to work with us on new and meaningful efforts that ensure employees - as well as our community - have a safe place to speak out and come forward.

"We stand with all our friends, teammates, and colleagues, as well as the members of our dedicated community, who have experienced mistreatment or harassment of any kind. We will not be silenced, we will not stand aside, and we will not give up until the company we love is a workplace we can all feel proud to be a part of again. We will be the change."

Since the allegations first came to light last week, past and present Blizzard employees have also taken to social media to criticise the company's response to the lawsuit, including Blizzard co-founder and former president Mike Morhaime.

Fans of the company's games have been raising awareness of the suit as well, with World Of Warcraft players holding virtual protests in-game, voicing support for victims, calling for change, and raising money for Black Girls Code.

TAGGED WITH

 

• Activision Blizzard

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Imogen Beckhelling

News Writer

Imogen is a lore enthusiast and lover of all the fun shenanigans game communities get up to. She spends too much time playing Overwatch, and not enough time having interests that aren't to do with video games.

 

Activision Blizzard Employees Are Unhappy With The Corporate Response To The Harassment Lawsuit

Paul Tassi

Games

News and opinion about video games, television, movies and the internet.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 14: General view of atmosphere at the Activision E3 preview held at Staples ... [+]

 GETTY

A rift is widening between many employees at Activision Blizzard and those in charge of the corporation, who have issued a wide range of statements regarding a lawsuit by the state of California alleging mistreatment of women within the company.

There have been a series of these statements, both issued externally and to Activision Blizzard employees themselves. The original statement published alongside the Bloomberg story on the lawsuit spent a large amount of time laying into the conduct of the investigators, whom the company called “state bureaucrats”:

“The DFEH includes distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard’s past. We have been extremely cooperative with the DFEH throughout their investigation, including providing them with extensive data and ample documentation, but they refused to inform us what issues they perceived. They were required by law to adequately investigate and to have good faith discussions with us to better understand and to resolve any claims or concerns before going to litigation, but they failed to do so. Instead, they rushed to file an inaccurate complaint, as we will demonstrate in court.”

That was followed up by internal emails to staff, including one from Blizzard President J. Allen Brack, who is personally named in the lawsuit:

Many point out the weirdness of Brack saying that feminist Gloria Steinem was a “revered saint in the Brack household,” along with other statements that seem to dispute the original pushback on the lawsuit.

MORE FOR YOU

Bungie Issues Statement On Activision Blizzard Harassment Allegations

After that, Activision CCO Fran Townsend, a former Homeland Security advisor to the Bush administration, issued another statement that very much doubled down on initial defenses of the culture at the company:

While Townsend speaks to her positive experiences as a woman in management, many highlight the fact that she’s only been with the company for seven months.

That last statement reportedly set off a number of employees. A source close to those working at Activision Blizzard relayed the following to me after that last email was sent out:

"Everyone is just crying and angry, especially as leadership keeps trying to minimize them and their feelings and gaslight what they remember."

Some Activision Blizzard employees are speaking publicly about their displeasure with the company, and there was even a partial work stoppage on the WoW team yesterday:

Others specifically name not just the accusations, but the corporate response as being poor:

Many, many others do not want to speak publicly about the issue for fear of the type of retaliation that Activision Blizzard claims does not exist within the company.

What seems to be happening is that corporate is issuing public statements denying many of these problems exist while simultaneously highlighting things the company does to mitigate these problems. Given that this is not just a complaint, but an actual lawsuit, there’s no doubt some level of “refusing to admit guilt” here that could be used in the case. A true apology would be an admission, and so here we are, with a wide gap between what the executives are saying and what the workers are feeling.

This is an unfurling mess that is only going to get more complicated as time goes on. We’ll see who speaks out next, more employees or another corporate executive

.

Bungie Publishes Statement Against

 "Harassment, Abuse, And Inequality" In

 Games Industry

"It's our responsibility to ensure this type of

 behavior is not tolerated at Bungie at any

 level," wrote the developer.


By Otto Kratky on July 23, 2021 





Destiny developer Bungie has taken to Twitter to speak out against what it calls "a persistent culture of harassment, abuse, and inequality that exists in our industry." The statement, a thread on Twitter of six different posts, comes days after a lawsuit was filed against Activision Blizzard by the state of California for its "frat boy" culture.

Bungie's statement is a clear message against any kind of discrimination in the games industry, saying, "While the accounts in this week's news are difficult to read, we hope they will lead to justice, awareness, and accountability."

The developer also spoke on its own efforts to quash any toxic behavior that may take place in its own offices. "It's our responsibility to ensure this type of behavior is not tolerated at Bungie at any level," reads the statement. "And that we never excuse it or sweep it under the rug."

Bungie worked with Blizzard Activision until 2019 developing both Destiny titles while under the publisher. The two companies split, with Bungie retaining the rights to Destiny.

The lawsuit against Activision Blizzard alleges that the company perpetrated a systematic "frat boy" culture that manifested in equal pay violations, sex discrimination, and sexual harassment. According to the lawsuit, African American women and other people of color were disproportionately impacted by these practices.

Activision Blizzard's response to the lawsuit included a swift denunciation of the body that issued it, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. "While we find this behavior to be disgraceful and unprofessional, it is unfortunately an example of how they [the DFEH] have conducted themselves throughout the course of their investigation," reads the statement. "It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State’s best businesses out of California."

Abuse in the games industry is commonplace, but it has begun to garner more attention in recent years. Ubisoft, the massive french publisher behind numerous popular franchises, including Far Cry and Rainbow Six, faced a swarm of abuse and harassment allegations just last year. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently shared the multiple ways the company has changed in response to a report claiming it had taken no extra efforts to prevent abuse.

A group of Activision Blizzard workers is unionizing

Kris Holt
·Contributing Writer
Fri, January 21, 2022


Call of Duty: Warzone quality assurance workers at Activision Blizzard studio Raven Software have announced plans to unionize with the Communication Workers of America (CWA). They have asked the company to voluntarily recognize their group, which is called the Game Workers Alliance. The 34-person unit had the support of 78 percent of eligible workers, according to Polygon.

“We ask that Activision Blizzard management respect Raven QA workers by voluntarily recognizing CWA’s representation without hesitation,” CWA secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens said in a statement. “A collective bargaining agreement will give Raven QA employees a voice at work, improving the games they produce and making the company stronger. Voluntary recognition is the rational way forward.”

Workers have given Activision Blizzard until January 25th to respond to their request, according to The Washington Post. If the company fails to do so, the group will file for a union election through the National Labor Relations Board and, because the workers have a supermajority of votes, they'd be able to formalize the union without voluntary recognition from Activision Blizzard. Should the group approve the union in an election, the company would need to bargain with workers in good faith.

Sixty Raven workers went on strike in early December after Activision Blizzard laid off 12 QA contractors, despite a request from Raven leadership to keep them employed. The workers demanded the company convert all Raven QA contractors into full-time employees. So far, Activision Blizzard has reportedly been playing hardball and declining to meet with with the striking workers. Warzone players have been grousing about the game's bugs, which QA workers are tasked with finding and addressing.

"Activision Blizzard is carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organize around three dozen of the company’s nearly 10,000 employees," the company told Polygon. "While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union." It added that it has raised minimum pay for Raven employees by 41 percent over the last few years, extended paid time off and converted over 60 percent of the studio's contractors into employees.

The CWA claims Activision Blizzard has "used surveillance and intimidation tactics, including hiring notorious union busters, to silence workers.” Last July, the company hired WilmerHale, a law firm with a history of cracking down on unionization efforts, to review its HR policies.

The Game Workers Alliance said its principles include solidarity, equity, diversity, transparency and sustainability. "Shortened development timelines sacrifice project quality and damage the mental and physical health of our team," it wrote on Twitter. "'Crunch' is not healthy for any product, worker, or company."

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced an agreement to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, the biggest deal in video game history. If shareholders and regulators approve the acquisition, which could have enormous ramifications for the industry, the merger should close by June 2023.

In an interview with the Post on Thursday, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer noted that he didn't have much experience with unions personally after working at Microsoft for over three decades. “So I’m not going to try to come across as an expert on this, but I’ll say we’ll be having conversations about what empowers them to do their best work, which as you can imagine in a creative industry, is the most important thing for us," he said.

On Wednesday, Activision Blizzard said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing regarding the planned merger that, "To the knowledge of the company, there are no pending activities or proceedings of any labor union, trade union, works council or any similar labor organization to organize any employees of the company or any of its subsidiaries with regard to their employment with the company or any of its subsidiaries." The week that Raven workers went on strike, Activision Blizzard sent its employees a letter imploring them “to consider the consequences” of signing union cards.

As Bloomberg's Jason Schreier noted, the Game Workers Alliance is the first union within a AAA gaming company in North America. Last month, workers at Vodeo Games formed the first video game union in the US. Management at the indie studio voluntarily recognized Vodeo Workers United. Swedish publisher Paradox Interactive signed a collective bargaining agreement with unions in 2020, while Japanese–Korean publisher Nexon recognized a workers' union in 2018.

Activision Employee Group Forms Union, a First in Video Games

Jason Schreier
Fri, January 21, 2022

(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp.’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. will come with an unexpected and perhaps unwelcome addition: a small group of unionized workers.

About three dozen people who work for an Activision-owned studio agreed to form the Game Workers Alliance Union, representatives for the group said Friday. They asked Activision to voluntarily recognize their union status. It would be the first union at a publicly traded video game publisher.

The group is composed of 34 quality assurance testers at Activision’s Raven Software, a team responsible for ensuring new content for Call of Duty games runs smoothly and without errors. It’s part of the Communications Workers of America, the largest union in the media industry.

A spokesman for Activision said the company is reviewing the request for recognition. “While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union,” the spokesman said in an emailed statement.

For years, people from across the video game industry have proposed organizing as a solution to unhealthy work environments. Burnout is a prevalent issue in gaming, brought on by a culture of overwork, sexism and little job security. Employers have not embraced workers’ flirtations with unionizing, but last month, employees of a small independent studio called Vodeo Games became the first to organize in North America.

Activision has been mired in scandal since California sued the company last summer for claims of sexual harassment and discrimination. Workers at the company began handing out union cards last month, triggering a warning from management that employees should “take time to consider the consequences of your signature on the binding legal document presented to you.”

Workers at Activision’s Raven Software went on strikes starting Dec. 6 in protest of the company’s intent to dismiss a dozen contract testers. Quality assurance testers are generally paid the least of any game developers and are sometimes treated as disposable. At Raven, testers are frequently asked to work overtime and have talked of going nights and weekends for months straight.

The Activision spokesman said the company has over the past couple of years raised minimum compensation for Raven testers by 41%, extended paid time off and expanded medical benefits access to workers and their spouses.

Microsoft said this week that it will acquire Activision for $68.7 billion. Unionization at big tech companies like Microsoft is rare. When a 38-person group of Microsoft bug testers organized in 2014, the company eventually dismissed them.

Management at Activision hasn’t acknowledged the Raven strike or responded to specific requests from the workers, representatives for the Game Workers Alliance Union said.

“It’s extremely important that workers have a real seat at the table to positively shape the company going forward,” Brent Reel, quality assurance lead at Raven, said in a statement.

Raven Software testers at Activision Blizzard form the first union at a major US gaming company



Amanda Silberling
Fri, January 21, 2022

Today, Raven Software's quality assurance (QA) department -- which mostly works on "Call of Duty" as part of Activision Blizzard -- became the first union to form at a major U.S. gaming company. With help from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Raven Software testers launched the Game Workers Alliance, which plans to focus on "improving the conditions of workers in the video game industry by making it a more sustainable, equitable place where transparency is paramount," even beyond its own company. The 34-worker unit is asking management to recognize their union during a time already marked by change: on Tuesday, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in one of the priciest tech acquisitions of all time.

Why Microsoft’s $2T+ market cap makes its $68B Activision buy a cheap bet

But on the heels of that historic acquisition, Activision Blizzard has been embroiled in controversy amid ongoing SEC investigations and sexual harassment scandals. Internally, employees started laying a grassroots foundation for worker solidarity through groups like the ABK Workers Alliance. When Raven Software laid off 12 contractors in early December, the team at the Wisconsin-based studio staged a walkout, which has continued for five weeks and counting.

Raven Software QA tester Onah Rongstad told TechCrunch that this incident sparked discussions about unionizing.

"On December 3, about a third of my department was informed that their contracts were going to be terminated early. And this was coming off of a five-week stretch of overtime, consistent work," she said. "We realized in that moment that our day-to-day work and our crucial role in the games industry as QA was not being taken into consideration. And at that time, we decided as Raven QA to start a strike to demonstrate that we are not just disposable parts of the industry, and during that time, it became very apparent that we had majority support within our department for a union."

The ABK Workers Alliance used its sizable social media following to crowdfund over $370,000 to assist with wages during the strike. The CWA said that this strike was the third work stoppage at Activision Blizzard after the company was sued in July 2021 over sexual harassment and misconduct claims. Still, about 20 members of the department remain on strike, Rongstad told TechCrunch.

"We are not sure how long [the strike] will continue, because we have not had direct communication with leadership about our demand that the 12 individuals who were let go be reinstated, which is unfortunate," said Rongstad, who has been with Raven Software since September 2020. "We are hoping to be able to go through with our unionization and get voluntary recognition so that we can prevent something like this from happening in the future."

Rongstad added that the news of Microsoft's planned acquisition does not change the union's plans to seek recognition.

"At the end of the day, we want to be able to work with leadership to create the most positive and beneficial work environment for all of the workers at ABK, and we are happy to work with leadership, whether that is the current leadership or Microsoft leadership in the future," they told TechCrunch.

This level of organizing among workers has little precedent in gaming, despite the industry being notorious for over-working employees or deploying mass layoffs due to closing studios. But only a month ago did the first voluntarily recognized gaming union form in North America at the small indie studio Vodeo Games, which produces "Beast Breaker." Vodeo's union also works with the CWA.

In an emailed statement to TechCrunch, Activision Blizzard responded to the Game Workers Alliance's announcement:

Activision Blizzard is carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organize around three dozen of the company’s nearly 10,000 employees. While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union.

Across Activision Blizzard, we remain focused on listening closely to our employees and providing the improved pay, benefits and professional opportunities needed to attract and retain the world’s best talent. Over the past couple of years, this has included raising minimum compensation for Raven QA employees by 41%, extending paid time off, expanding access to medical benefits for employees and significant others, and transitioning more than 60% of temporary Raven QA staff into full-time employees.

It's yet to be seen whether or not Activision Blizzard will voluntarily recognize the Game Workers Alliance. If Activision Blizzard chooses to recognize the union, then they don't need to have a union election and can begin collective bargaining. If the company opts not to recognize them, then the union can conduct an election through the National Labor Relations Board.

"We do have supermajority, and that's why we were able to ask for voluntary recognition. We're confident that if it went to a vote, we would win," said Rongstad. "We are hoping that they will voluntarily recognize the union and just show their support for workers rights."

The Game Workers Alliance is giving Activision Blizzard until January 25 to respond to their request for voluntary recognition. Read their letter below:

View this document on Scribd

Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion

Activision Blizzard workers will stage a walkout after ‘abhorrent’ response to harassment suit

Workers at Activision Blizzard-owned game studio Raven Software vote to unionize

Jaimie Ding
Fri, January 21, 2022

Workers at Raven Software, maker of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" and other video games, have voted to unionize. (Associated Press)

After weeks of striking, quality assurance workers at Activision Blizzard-owned game studio Raven Software have voted to form a new union, adding a wrinkle to Microsoft's $69-billion acquisition of the video game giant.

Workers at the Wisconsin-based studio that leads development of the popular game “Call of Duty” are launching the Game Workers Alliance with Communications Workers of America. The quality assurance unit consists of 34 workers, 27 of whom voted to publicly support the union.

“In the video game industry, specifically Raven QA, people are passionate about their jobs and the content they are creating,” Becka Aigner, a Raven QA functional tester, said in a press release. “We want to make sure that the passion from these workers is accurately reflected in our workplace and the content we make.”

More than 60 workers walked off the job at Raven Software and across the 10,000-employee company headquartered in Santa Monica in early December to protest the dismissal of several members of the quality assurance department at the end of their contracts. The strike has been running for five weeks.

Jessica Gonzalez, a former Activision employee and organizer with worker group A Better ABK, called the news a “huge step” for labor organizing in the games industry.

“The first-ever blockbuster studio to unionize, it’s a big deal,” Gonzalez said.

Worker unrest has been stirring at Activision Blizzard for months. California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the firm last summer, alleging that senior leaders allowed sexual harassment and pay discrimination to continue unchecked throughout the company for years.

In the wake of the lawsuit, workers at the company formed A Better ABK to press for better conditions and worker representation at Activision Blizzard and its King unit, maker of popular mobile games such as "Candy Crush."

A Wall Street Journal investigation in November showed that Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Bobby Kotick knew about sexual harassment allegations for years. Nearly a fifth of the firm’s staffers signed a petition and a walkout was organized to call for Kotick’s resignation.

Workers across the video game industry have increasingly been pushing back against work conditions that include temporary contracts with minimal job security and brutal weeks-long pushes to meet game deadlines. In December, about a dozen workers at the independent game developer Vodeo Games formed the first video game studio union in North America.

Friday’s news comes on the heels of Tuesday's announcement that Microsoft would be purchasing Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, the largest acquisition in the software company’s history. Some employees expressed unhappiness that the deal could represent a soft exit for Kotick, who stands to walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars.

Microsoft, like most of the tech industry, is not unionized, though temporary employees at the contractor Lionbridge Technologies signed a union contract with the company in 2016. Some Microsoft workers in South Korea and Britain are also part of unions.

Microsoft Gaming Chief Executive Phil Spencer told the Washington Post on Thursday that he doesn't "have a lot of personal experience with unions."

"I’ve been at Microsoft for 33 years," Spencer said. "So I’m not going to try to come across as an expert on this, but I’ll say we’ll be having conversations about what empowers them to do their best work, which as you can imagine in a creative industry, is the most important thing for us.”

The newly formed Game Workers Alliance requested voluntary recognition from Activision Blizzard but will move forward with a balloted election through the National Labor Relations Board if they do not receive a response by Tuesday.

“A collective bargaining agreement will give Raven QA employees a voice at work, improving the games they produce and making the company stronger," CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens said in the press release. "Voluntary recognition is the rational way forward.”

The Game Workers Alliance also accused the company of "surveillance and intimidation tactics," including hiring union busters to silence workers.

An Activision Blizzard spokesperson said the company is “carefully reviewing” the request for voluntary recognition from CWA.

“While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union,” the spokesperson said.

The company said it has raised minimum compensation for Raven QA employees by 41%, extended paid time off, expanded access to medical benefits and transitioned more than 60% of temporary QA staff into full-time employees.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.