Both Microsoft and Sony are now reevaluating their relationship with Activision Blizzard over the reports of severely unethical behavior throughout the company, including a new Wall Street Journal report. The WSJ has detailed allegations that CEO, Bobby Kotick, has gone so far as to make death threats during his tenure as the leader of video game publisher Activision Blizzard. At That Park Place, we have covered how a Vice President at Blizzard may have tried unsuccessfully to redeem the company’s culture before deciding to quit.
“[We are] evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments.”
“This type of behavior has no place in our industry.”
“[We are] disheartened and frankly stunned to read [that Activision] has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment.”
— Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox Division, Microsoft
“[Activision Blizzard] has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment. We do not believe their statements of response properly address the situation”
— Jim Ryan, CEO Playstation
In response, Activision Blizzard has released the following statement:
“We respect all feedback from our valued partners and are engaging with them further. We have detailed important changes we have implemented in recent weeks, and we will continue to do so. We are committed to the work of ensuring our culture and workplace are safe, diverse, and inclusive. We know it will take time, but we will not stop until we have the best workplace for our team.” (Response made to inquiry from Engadget
However, the unethical and dramatic events at Activision Blizzard have left the company in financial free fall. This is resulting in further calls for the company to part ways with its CEO. In the Wall Street Journal today, Dan Gallagher argues that it is time for the corporation to hit a hard reset as they’ve dropped one-third of their value and have very little positive in front of them.
Activision Really Needs to Hit the Reset Button
If Sony and Microsoft cut ties with Activision Blizzard to the most they contractually can, we could potentially see the company’s products disappear from virtual store visibility. It would seem the clock is ticking on the company making big decisions to save what little goodwill they have remaining.
