Overwatch
As Activision Blizzard continues to find itself mire in bad pressure , the society ’s latestOverwatch 2news stay a perturbing trend - annunciation seemingly timed to follow contention coming to light . Amidst claims of union - busting , studio walk - outs , and twodiscrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits , Activision Blizzardhas continued onward with annunciation schedules and news show around its upcoming titles . regrettably , many of these announcements seem to be positioned to perturb from the superfluity of progeny face the company at nowadays .
Over the past twelvemonth , Activision Blizzard has seen a monolithic wave of controversy around studio working condition and management of the Santa Monica - base company . July 2021 saw the filing of a lawsuit by California ’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing following a two - year probe , quote " frat son civilization " and sexual harassment aim at female employee . In March 2022Activision settled with the EEOCfor a shamefully crushed amount , though in the intervening months further issues within the company came to light , prompting employee walkout and calls for CEO Bobby Kotick to submit .
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Through all of this , Activision Blizzard ’s studios have mostly proceed to knead , go forward on highly anticipated projects likeOverwatch 2andDiablo 4- a fact that the company is quick to remind the public of . The timing of this is highly suspect , however ; major game - colligate announcements frequently take after news harmful to the party ’s figure . Most latterly , a lagger featuringOverwatch 2 ’s new hero Sojourn , who had been see in former promotional material , was released the same 24-hour interval as a Californialawyer in the on-going Activision suit resignedfrom the CDFEH and alleged that California Governor Gavin Newsom interfered with the suit . Politicois reporting that Activision Blizzard board fellow member Casey Wasserman donated $ 100,000 to Newsom ’s cause to end California ’s regulator election recall .
Activision Blizzard’s Announcements Detract From Bad Press
late year have provided some transparence into Activision Blizzard ’s inner working , and revealed some fair worthless truths . The society has allegedly fostered studio environment where women are harassed , unfairly compensated , and sideline when they arouse fear to superiors or HR . Raven Software , one of Activision ’s holdings , has a squad that has dealt with underpayment and meaning bit of layoffs , especially among quality assurance testers . ( this undervaluing of QA quizzer was apparently addressed byActivision Blizzard collapse contract workers full - time positionsand produce , though Raven employee , who have recently unionized , have received no such benefit . ) Reports have alleged that Kotick has long been aware of the company ’s criminal record of intimate molestation , and while it appears he may leave his position once Microsoft ’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is ended , many have ring for his surrender even originally . It ’s no wonder that Activision Blizzard would look to direct medium attention elsewhere , and the company may be deliberately timing announcements to take away from these stories .
A handful of specific incidents really highlight the timings in question . apart from the CDFEH and EEOC suits , Activision Blizzard is face a wrongful last lawsuitfollowing the decease of employee Kerri Moynihan . Moynihan took her own life at a company hideaway in 2017 ; allot to her parent , who charge the suit this retiring March , intimate harassment was a significant factor lead to her expiry . In the days following the filing , Activision Blizzard announcedOverwatch 2 ’s open beta , which unsurprisingly generated a buzz on social media - and while it did n’t entirely drown out news of the Moynihan lawsuit , it sure enough pulled some attention away .
This even predates the DFEH ’s lawsuit . In 2019 , competitiveHearthstoneplayer Blitzchung vocalise his backup for Hong Kong protestors during an prescribed event ; Activision Blizzard reacted by punishing Blitzchung , ostracize him from succeeding tournament and stripping him of his prize money . While the community backlash was strong , Blizzard did n’t fully overthrow Blitzchung ’s ban . What ’s more , the arguing was followed by leak revealingOverwatch 2and its upcoming announcement at BlizzCon 2019 , as well asDiablo 4 ’s reveal .
Is Activision Blizzard Deliberately Timing Announcements?
It ’s hard not to marvel whether this is a deliberate travail by Activision Blizzard to cover up controversy with its own intelligence . Replies to the officialOverwatchTwitter account ’s tweet reveal Sojourn is flood with user associate to Bloomberg ’s clause alleging the California Governor ’s Office ’s involvement in the recently - settled suit . This take , while misanthropic , seems at least potentially justified - the pattern identify here is pretty compelling on its own . It may be invoke for some to believe that huge company like Activision Blizzard make trailer and reveals for parking brake like bad press .
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And yet , trailers are made to generate inflammation - studio do n’t terminate creating content when jam is good . Overwatch 2 ’s upcoming betawasn’t made just to drown out conversation around lawsuits . Developers require to show off their work to audiences , a goal which can run afoul with negatively charged public perception in the face of controversy . Activision Blizzard could be timing announcements to counteract big crush , but everything the company has announced almost sure enough would have still been announced under unlike circumstances .
The first and most obvious takeout food is to not countenance turmoil and hype around announcements draw meaningful attention from Activision Blizzard ’s serious controversies . The company is a titan of the game manufacture , and it is important to accommodate it accountable for the ways it may have fail its employees . Activision Blizzard ’s record earningscould be pass to estimable party culture and evenhandedly compensate workers , rather than to give multi - million one dollar bill raises to executives while developers get laid off . March ’s $ 18 million colonisation does n’t in any means address the company ’s issues - notably , it includes a article that allows Activision Blizzard to polish off sexual molestation allegation from the files of the settlement ’s claimant - and without internal , structural changes , harassment and discrimination are likely to continue .
The 2nd takeaway is less concrete . blockade a studio closing , teams under Activision Blizzard will proceed take a crap game , and while the apparent willingness to use growth announcements to drown out bad publicity only speaks further ill of Activision Blizzard , the macrocosm of these announcements should n’t be hold against developer . Making a biz read an absurd amount of sentence , energy , and masses - even more so at Blizzard ’s plate . This work should be celebrate by developers , publishers , and role player alike , but it presently ca n’t sidestep cynicism , specially as it ca n’t be disproven that this is a calculated strategy . Hopefully , the company begins to see serious changes , but asOverwatch 2approaches , Activision Blizzardcould at least stand to clock its announcements with a minuscule more compassionateness .
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Source : Politico
