On July 20th, following a multiyear investigation in which the company stonewalled the state of California at every turn, the state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard over a pervasive “frat boy” culture of sexual harassment and abuse. (CW: suicide, harassment, rape)
The state’s filing is a chilling recounting of the abusive culture at the company (and in particular at Blizzard), documenting how women were harassed, routinely denied promotions and hired at lower rates, women who became pregnant were punished for doing so (bringing new light to the story that the company was pushing tracking to report which employees were looking to get pregnant), and in one particularly tragic example how one woman who had been the subject of sexual harassment and abuse committed suicide as a result. In initial response, AB chose to vehemently deny the charges and attack the State for bringing forth what they called a meritless lawsuit – only to have to walk the statement back as employees came forth about the abuses documented in the suit.
The fallout from the filing has been immense, as the company has found itself on the back foot responding to employees, the state of California, and consumers.