Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.
Former president and CEO of Blizzard Entertainment Mike Morhaime has put out a statement in response to a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard. Morhaime fully left the studio he helped found in 2019 and started a new one by the name of Dreamhaven in 2020.
On July 20, the state of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against publisher Activision Blizzard for what prosecutors refer to as a "frat boy" work culture of harassment, unfair pay, and other discriminatory behavior. As a result, Activision Blizzard games have gone silent on many social media platforms, making it uncertain exactly what is going on behind the scenes at the publisher and its studios. The accusations in question extend well back into Morhaime's time with the company, and now the former president and CEO has shared his thoughts on the whole situation.
Via Twitter, Mike Morhaime posted a link to his full statement on the matter on Twitlonger, where he expressed remorse for the part he played in allowing this work culture to exist under his leadership at Blizzard. The former CEO says that he has read the full complaint against Activision Blizzard, among other stories about the company's culture, remarking that it was "disturbing and difficult to read." Morhaime goes on to apologize to all of Blizzard's female employees saying, "I am extremely sorry that I failed you." Blizzard's former CEO acknowledged that everything he said is "just words," saying that he is willing to hear and share the stories of the victims going forward.
While he has apologized, there are some lingering questions about the former CEO's role in Activision Blizzard's culture. As he makes clear in his statements, he was at Blizzard for 28 years, and the behavior outlined in the lawsuit existed during his time there. In regards to the investigation as a whole, an official spokesperson's statement to Bloomberg said that the company portrayed in the lawsuit "is not the Blizzard workplace of today," yet referred to the investigation findings as "distorted, and in many cases false."
Other developers and gamers are responding to the Activision Blizzard revelations in their own ways. Destiny developer and former Activision partner Bungie openly took an anti-toxicity pledge in an effort to make the gaming industry more welcoming and inclusive, meanwhile World of Warcraft players are protesting Activision Blizzard and some of the specific individuals mentioned in the lawsuit in-game.
Sources: Mike Morhaime/Twitlonger, Bloomberg