The TV series Activision-Blizzard is set to last, even in 2022. Following multiple investigations that have lifted the veil and the word around the publisher’s toxic corporate culture, as well as around numerous cases of harassment, Bobby Kotick and management are having a hard time putting on a good face. A new article from the Wall Street Journal, relayed by VGC, just takes stock of these cases, and once again reveals the shenanigans of the big boss.
Numbers that had to be hidden for a while
Video game giant Activision Blizzard, under intense pressure from shareholders/partners/employees over its culture, pulled numbers on workplace misconduct/investigations. CEO Bobby Kotick held it back from the public https://t.co/N9RGEILpJ5
—Kirsten Grind (@KirstenGrind) January 17, 2022
According to this new article, these are no less than 37 people who have been expelled since last summer. The publisher would then have received more than 700 complaints about misconduct in the workplace since July (a figure that ranges from minor cases to more serious events), and would have investigated almost 90% of them.
In addition to those who were fired for inappropriate behavior, 44 others are under disciplinary action. The measures promised by the publisher therefore seem to be well implemented (except for Bobby Kotick), even if it is still unclear whether this will change many things within the company.
And we have to believe that as long as Bobby Kotick is the CEO, the image of Activision-Blizzard can hardly be restored. Targeted by complaints himself, the boss of the company still has the support of the board of directors, and seems to be untouchable. Even when the Wall Street Journal investigation reveals it withheld information about the 37 fired employees so as not to release it too soon.
The article then states that Kotick did not want to release these figures, against the advice of management, so that the general public could not see how much worse the situation at the publisher was than expected.. A fine example of transparency then (it’s ironic, just in case).