Civil Discussion on the Activision Blizzard lawsuit...

[DXCHASE]

Looking for some thoughts, trying to keep it civil and what not, delete if not allowed .

Well this is dominating my news feed, as it should because i believe the people that make my games should have the upmost respect and pay and everything else that goes with working on the games i love. I am also conflicted on 'boycotting' these companies games because of the allegations but at the same time i dont want to not support the ones that are harshly affected by the issues/incidents that are being reported. I hope that Activision Blizzard does change its structure, culture and eliminate its toxic elements and that a lot of the wrongs can still be righted for them but the human side of me says this will take a long time still.

 

[Zloth]

I haven't bought an ActiVision/Blizzard game in well over a decade, so I can't get at all concerned about whether the charges are right or wrong.

What I have found interesting is how its playing out with the employees! It's getting hard to find good employees, so power is shifting back to them. That has certainly been good to see.

 

[Brian Boru]

this is dominating my news feed

For those who haven't heard:

California sues Activision Blizzard over alleged harassment

One of the world's largest gaming companies is accused of endemic discrimination and harassment.

www.bbc.com

Activision staff condemn firm's response to harassment claims

About 1,000 Activision Blizzard staff sign a letter describing managers' response as insulting.

www.bbc.com

 

[Ryzengang]

It is up to people to decide for themselves what is best but, personally, I uninstalled WoW for the first time since owning my computer. Been a player since TBC. The sheer number of distinct (and abhorrent) events that have been reported are staggering and reprehensible and I'm simply not supporting the company anymore. Again, I'm not saying other people have to do the same; I've just reached a point with Blizzard where I'm not having it anymore.

 

[mainer]

As far as boycotting a companies games, like Blizzard/Activision, I don't think it would ever be wide spread enough worldwide to actually affect anything. Even if it were to be effective, who would suffer? What happens when a company's sales goes down, who gets laid off? Not the CEOs or the management, but the folks that do the actual work. I realize it's a personal choice and fully respect that, I just feel that it wouldn't be effective, and if it were, it wouldn't affect the individuals that need to be removed to improve the company's workplace.

One of the things with Blizzard/Activision is that this hostile workplace environment has been allowed to fester and grow for years, so it's going to be difficult to completely root out and change. I give the employees credit for walking out in boycotting the situation, that will at least keep it in the news, and if it's constantly in the news, it will help put pressure on the company's upper/lower management to actually do something. But as DXCHASE said, it's probably going to take awhile.

One other thing that struck me while reading the articles on PCG about this, is where the hell is Blizzard/Activision's Human Resource (HR) Department? If folks were filing complaints with HR, why wasn't this weeded out earlier? I think that's part of the problem also, that HR turned a blind eye to these issues.

 

[Brian Boru]

More from the news:

Activision Blizzard staff walk out over harassment claims

Employees of the company behind Call of Duty are angry over allegations of sexism and harassment.

www.bbc.com

 

[Yggdrasill]

I've been playing Overwatch on a daily basis, was looking forward to Diablo 2 and 4, but not anymore.

It's shocking and horrific and until all this stuff is sorted out I won't touch any game of Activision Blizzard. Even if I wanted to - I can't because it makes me sick at the moment. Too big of a hill to climb.

 

[ZedClampet]

The entire gaming culture has nurtured toxicity for years. Imagine working in a large company filled with gamers. It's not a pleasant thought for me.

 

[Zloth]

I think that depends a LOT on the gamers. On Steam, the forums for different games often have extremely different cultures showing up.