Last week, on July 21, 2021, a bombshell truly dropped: the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing is suing Activision Blizzard for cultivating what they call a "frat boy" culture at Activision and Blizzard. The list of allegations is extremely long and disturbing. After two years of investigation, there are allegations of unequal treatment of women, including constant sexual harassment, unequal pay, and other actions - such as not promoting a woman because she might have children.

About 20 percent of Activision Blizzard's employees are female, and no fewer of them have been the target of sexual harassment and coercion, he said. While spokespeople for Activision Blizzard call the allegations twisted and untrue, a different tone is being struck at Blizzard itself. CEO J. Allen Brack promises that the allegations will be taken very seriously and investigated.

"I don't know what to do"

The shocking extent of the accusations can be seen in a Twitter thread by Jeff Hamilton, Senior System Designer for World of Warcraft (buy now €14.99)

. His words: "I don't know what to do. I don't have all the answers. I can say that almost no work is being done on World of Warcraft right now while this obscenity is going on. And that doesn't benefit anyone - not the players, not the developers, not the shareholders. "Recommended Editorial ContentThisis whereyou will find external content from [PLATTFORM]

.

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Hamilton took his thoughts to Twitter in response to Activision Blizzard's internal company statement, which was reportedly sent around by AB executive Fran Townsend and also reached industry insider Jason Schreier of Bloomberg: In her eyes, companies under the Activision Blizzard banner are cracking down on inappropriate working conditions, hostile environments and sexual harassment. There would also be zero tolerance for people who take action against employees who freely voice their concerns and opinions.

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In a nutshell, Townsend doesn't really see companies as being at fault; after all, he says, there are enough mechanisms in place that would have taken effect by now. Probably, but that's just a guess, Fran Townsend as a member of the Executive Board won't have much idea what's actually going on in the departments either, but let's leave that for now. J. Allen Brack's "I'm angry and sad and have a lot of other emotions" probably speaks more to some Blizzard employees.

Many more Blizzard employees are expressing their disbelief at Activision Blizzard's statements on social media, emphasizing in tweets that every voice needs to be heard, "This tweet is my own and does not represent the views of my company. I do not support any attempt by AB to diminish the very real harm done to victims of harassment at Blizzard.

It

is imperative that we listen to and support the women in our company, both current and former. "

But where do we go

from here?

Only time will tell, as there's no telling how much damage the misogynistic and aggressive behavior has done - both to the victims and to the Blizzard community.

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