Avery K. Tingle, The Gamer Author

There are toxic work environments, and then, apparently, there’s Activision Blizzard.

The company behind obscure franchises such as World of Warcraft and Call of Duty is so toxic that employees walked off the job yesterday. This walkout wasn’t to protest the company’s working conditions. Not exactly. The walkout was a response to the company’s response to a lawsuit filed by the state of California.

That’s right. Activision Blizzard is such a hellscape that a whole-ass state’s justice department has decided to take legal action. That is a failure of leadership on every conceivable level.

Following the lawsuit was a predictable chain of events that have repeated literally every single time a situation like this is made public. When the matter was private, the company circulated an email calling the lawsuit “meritless and irresponsible” and “painting a distorted and untrue picture of our company” and blah blah blah bullshit.

Once the matter grew beyond them, Activision Blizzard’s tune changed completely. CEO Bobby Kotick emerged with the standard-form apology. A letter to the company said the following:

“Our initial responses to the issues we face together, and to your concerns, were, quite frankly, tone deaf. It is imperative that we acknowledge all perspectives and experiences and respect the feelings of those who have been mistreated in any way. I am sorry that we did not provide the right empathy and understanding.”

That’s great, Bobby. What actionable steps are you going to take to remedy the situation? Because right now, more than three thousand current and former employees kinda think you’re full of shit. With stories circulating about a Cosby Room (more on that later), it’s hard to disagree with them.

It remains to be seen if Activision Blizzard’s culture will actually change, or if floral prose will once again lead to stuff like this being swept under the rug and forgotten.

Do better.

Thanks for reading.

Avery K. Tingle is a scifi/fantasy author currently residing in the Las Vegas area. Owned by two cats, he is passionate about social justice, Star Wars, and mental health. Connect to his award-winning writing and social media here.