Blizzards latest incident has sparked a massive outcry among gamers, as Blizzard has lost the trust of players all over the world. Ubisoft, a games publisher, has now offered their support in finding a peaceful solution to the growing issue.
One day into Blizzard’s 24-hour sale, the gaming company is already feeling the love from its fans. They’re being rewarded for their loyalty, and making it rain money, too. Ubisoft’s “Steep” and “Aversa” are both seeing discounts in honor of Blizzard’s 24-hour sale, but Aversa’s sale is back-dated to yesterday. “Steep” is dropping from $40 to $29, while “Aversa” is dropping from $30 to $22.
Thursday was a big day for Blizzard’s employees, as the entire company got together to play Overwatch and work on their favorite games. Blizzard employees, past and present, share a bond with one another, that is, until the inevitable job shuffle.. Read more about what is happening to blizzard and let us know what you think.
Blizzard Entertainment isn’t the only video game company facing employee criticism over sexism and harassment. Ubisoft, the creator of The Division 2, has long been embroiled in its own controversies resulting from years of misbehavior and prejudice.
Over 500 current and former workers at Ubisoft-owned companies signed a letter this week expressing solidarity with Blizzard’s employees, chastising Ubisoft for failing to clean house, and calling for industry-wide change.
The letter says, “It is apparent, based on the frequency of these allegations, that the business has a pervasive and deeply entrenched culture of abusive conduct.” “It’s past time for us to stop being surprised. We must insist that genuine measures to prevent them be implemented. Those who are accountable for their conduct must be held accountable.”
The letter emphasized the need of establishing “a set of norms and procedures for addressing complaints of these offenses” that would be applied uniformly across the video game industry.
In better news, Intrepid Studios’ Ashes of Creation crew brought love and support — as well as food – to the employees yesterday.
On Reddit, an anonymous Blizzard engineer said, “I was moved to tears today by such a simple act of compassion and support by Intrepid.” “I don’t know much about this initiative or business, but I think the industry could use more leaders like Steven and John.”
“We were startled to see a food truck inviting us to their window for free lunches when my colleagues and I arrived in front of the main entrance. When I questioned the crew of the truck who was giving this incredible treat, they replied an ally named Steven Sharif and the team at Intrepid Studios, and then pointed to a sign on the side of the window that said as much. I quickly researched the business and scoured their social media accounts for any mention of this treat, thinking it was a PR ploy. But I couldn’t find any tweets or posts noting this nice act. And I must admit, having spent a lot of time with marketers, I was totally taken aback. As a result, I wanted to express my gratitude. It takes a special type of person to do something like this for strangers, much alone a rival, and seek no remuneration. We extend our love and gratitude for the support to you and your community from many of us at Blizzard.”
The Guild Wars 2 crew also offered their best wishes.
Today, a group of Seattle developers are out in support of the #ActiBlizzWalkout!
And many more are contributing from their homes. pic.twitter.com/7eLx7MjCza
July 28, 2021 Connor Fallon (@ConnorEFallon)
Back to the terrible news now. CEO Bobby Kotick instructed employees to contact his recently hired outside legal firm in a letter sent to Activision-Blizzard employees earlier this week.
“I’ve asked WilmerHale, a law firm, to examine our policies and processes to ensure that we have and maintain best practices for promoting a respectful and inclusive workplace. This work will start right away. Stephanie Avakian, a member of WilmerHale’s management team and former Director of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, will lead the WilmerHale team. We urge anybody who has had an incident that they think violates our rules or has made them uncomfortable in the workplace to report it via one of our numerous reporting channels or to contact Stephanie. She may be contacted at [email protected] or 202-247-2725, and she and her colleagues at WilmerHale would be happy to talk with you on a private basis. Your contact information will be kept private. Of course, there will be no retaliation.”
However, since Avakian’s specialty is actually helping private businesses through “the difficulties of government investigations” rather than assisting employees, it didn’t seem like the greatest idea for victims to call the company’s legal counsel. Furthermore, several attorneys pointed out in our comments that Kotick never stated the law firm was there to investigate any misconduct, just to examine rules. And now, after a few days, the internet has unearthed much more information, including the fact that the company explicitly promotes itself for “advising on union awareness and avoidance” — i.e., union busting. Riot did the same thing when confronted with a backlash over its own bro culture, as readers will remember.
Activision-Blizzard is collaborating with “Wilmerhale,” a union-busting company similar to the one used by Amazon. pic.twitter.com/lUTDThV77g
— character from a huge poster (@JDespland) 29th of July, 2021
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Blizzard employees in the Bay Area were in shock over the news that the company had cut ties with the union representing its employees, and now, some of them are taking matters into their own hands. This morning, hundreds of Blizzard employees, many of whom had not attended the union meeting, met up at a local restaurant, where they ordered lunch for the employees who were absent. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the workers also chartered a bus to make the one-mile trip to the meeting, which was held at the San Francisco office of Human Resources.. Read more about upcoming blizzard games 2020 and let us know what you think.
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