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Today, several new reports provided yet another look at the allegedly toxic studio culture within Activision Blizzard, as Bloomberg and the Washington Post both published articles incorporating interviews with former and current employees of the division. Corporate blizzard.
As reported by Bloomberg, an aide to co-founder and former Blizzard CEO Michael Morhaime claimed to have briefed him and other senior executives on the widespread misconduct taking place within the company.
Morhaime left the publisher in 2018 after serving as CEO for 28 years.
The Bloomberg report also features a shift in the company’s culture as it gained popularity to the point where its developers were considered rock stars.
“These developers were untouchable. Not only could they tell you how to do your job, but they had so much power they could do whatever they wanted with their other powerful friends,” said the former employee. Christina Mikkonen at the site.
The Post’s sources appeared to back up this claim, with a long-time former Blizzard employee saying, “In my experience, you just stopped going to HR. They were almost like a gang that would ruin your career if you reported. some people.”
A source recalled a conversation with Bloomberg where an executive explained to staff that young women who were fans or worked at the company saw them as superstars and “why shouldn’t they take advantage of it sexually?”
The report also notes that Blizzard Morhaime’s senior executives, founder Frank Pearce and former chairman J. Allen Brack all married women in lower positions in the company. This set an uncomfortable precedent for some female staff, a source told Bloomberg, as it led to unwanted sexual advances at work.
Power dynamics within the company are also said to be present in the gender pay gap that women have suffered, Bloomberg said.
Former staff said they had lower salaries than their male colleagues who had similar work experience. A source shared a screenshot of an official telling him that salary discussions between staff are prohibited.
The California Equal Pay Act of 2015 made it illegal for employers to prohibit workers from discussing their wages with each other.
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company “strives to pay all employees fairly for equal work.”
“We take every allegation seriously and will investigate all allegations,” a spokesperson told The Washington Post.
“We will not tolerate anyone who has interfered with the integrity of our processes for assessing claims and imposing appropriate consequences. If employees have concerns about how Human Resources has handled complaints, including retaliatory complaints, we have other reporting options, including anonymous. “
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