EDIT: Cancelled. My ~500 character reason for cancellation below Looks like I'll be cancelling my WoW subscription. Pretty disgusting to think that my £9.99/month sub has been going towards a...
EDIT: Cancelled. My ~500 character reason for cancellation below
Shadowlands is in a dismal state and I have considered quitting for some time. I won't elaborate further, because based on how Adam Holisky, your Lead Product Manager, openly insulted Asmongold on Twitter, it's clear you're not listening to player feedback at all.
The final straw for me and the main reason I'm cancelling is the California lawsuit. The way that the DFEH allege you treat women in the workplace is sickening.
I cannot in good faith support a company that thinks this is okay.
Looks like I'll be cancelling my WoW subscription.
Pretty disgusting to think that my £9.99/month sub has been going towards a company that embraces toxic masculinity and rape culture. Some of these tales are harrowing to read.
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. We are sickened by the reprehensible conduct of the DFEH to drag into the complaint the tragic suicide of an employee whose passing has no bearing whatsoever on this case and with no regard for her grieving family. While we find this behavior to be disgraceful and unprofessional, it is unfortunately an example of how they have conducted themselves throughout the course of their investigation. It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State’s best businesses out of California.
...
We are confident in our ability to demonstrate our practices as an equal opportunity employer that fosters a supportive, diverse, and inclusive workplace for our people, and we are committed to continuing this effort in the years to come. It is a shame that the DFEH did not want to engage with us on what they thought they were seeing in their investigation.
Pretty gross response over all, especially in the face of many former employees chiming in on Twitter.
Response to Response as an open letter from Blizzard Staff to management and various media. https://www.polygon.com/22594765/activision-blizzard-open-letter-harassment-lawsuit
Response to Response as an open letter from Blizzard Staff to management and various media.
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. Categorizing 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 organizations’ 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 recognize 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.
EDIT: Cancelled. My ~500 character reason for cancellation below
Looks like I'll be cancelling my WoW subscription.
Pretty disgusting to think that my £9.99/month sub has been going towards a company that embraces toxic masculinity and rape culture. Some of these tales are harrowing to read.
Blizzard Response
Pretty gross response over all, especially in the face of many former employees chiming in on Twitter.
Response to Response as an open letter from Blizzard Staff to management and various media.
https://www.polygon.com/22594765/activision-blizzard-open-letter-harassment-lawsuit