Even the Overwatch 2 team has tested the tool and is also “enthusiastic” based on initial impressions.
Activision Blizzard Assigns Points for Age, Appearance, Race
What kind of image upset people? They published an image of the heroine Ana from Overwatch with a points system:
- Ana received 7 out of 10 points because her culture is deemed “Egyptian” which seems diverse enough
- “Arabic” for race gets 7 points
- For her age “60” she also receives 6 points
- The physical flaw “Has only one eye” still earns 4 points
- But when it comes to body shape, she gets nothing, as she is described as “slim and curvy”
- Also 0 points for her social status (middle class) and her sexual orientation (heterosexual)
- That she is a woman is still worth 5 points.
In a diagram that represents her points, one can see: She excels in points for culture, race, and age, otherwise she is rather “non-diverse”.
“What does it even mean for one character to have a higher race than another?”
What is the reaction? The reaction was terrible. On Twitter, people said (via twitter):
- “You’re assigning numerical values to race and culture. How could you get that far and not see how twisted that is?”
- “How can you quantify race and sexual orientation – What does it even mean that a character has a higher race than others?”
- “This is embarrassing, just hire diverse people and you will see diverse characters”
Blizzard is also criticized for posting something like this while publicly opposing the establishment of unions.
In a podcast, we critically examined Blizzard’s situation following the sexism scandal of 2021:
Blizzard Employees Distance Themselves from Tool
What is the internal reaction? The reaction to the post is extremely negative. Even the own employees of Overwatch 2 are distancing themselves from the post. However, the blog post stated their first impression was “enthusiastic”.
However, developer Melissa Kelly writes (via twitter):
“God, I swear, our own company is trying so hard to kill every goodwill the devs have built, who actually make the game.
Overwatch doesn’t even use that creepy dystopian chart. Our writers have eyes. Our artists have eyes.”
Kelly says: What really drives the diversity of Overwatch are the developers. Because they are truly from those cultures: That’s the whole secret.
Kelly then posted a sign suggesting that the company is currently ruining the reputation of Activision Blizzard.
Also, the criticism from the designer amounts to the fact that the tool is a “bureaucratic-technical solution” for an obvious imbalance.
As an author from PC Gamer says: “You don’t need a mathematical solution to see that there was no black woman in the character selection at the launch of Overwatch.”
Blizzard Deletes All Images
This is how Blizzard is reacting: Blizzard has heavily revised the blog post and removed all images from the blog post. Any references to the use of the tool in Overwatch or Call of Duty: Vanguard were also removed thereafter.
It is now stated that they edited the post to show that the tool is not in active development.
They emphasize that the tool is a help, not a replacement for “important efforts of the teams in this matter”. The tool will also not affect hiring goals.
Especially for Activision Blizzard, the issue of “diversity” is particularly important:
The horror year 2021 at Blizzard – All incidents and the future
However, developer Melissa Kelly writes (via twitter):
“God, I swear, our own company is trying so hard to kill every goodwill the devs have built, who actually make the game.
Overwatch doesn’t even use that creepy dystopian chart. Our writers have eyes. Our artists have eyes.”
Kelly says: What really drives the diversity of Overwatch are the developers. Because they are truly from those cultures: That’s the whole secret.
Kelly then posted a sign suggesting that the company is currently ruining the reputation of Activision Blizzard.
Also, the criticism from the designer amounts to the fact that the tool is a “bureaucratic-technical solution” for an obvious imbalance.
As an author from PC Gamer says: “You don’t need a mathematical solution to see that there was no black woman in the character selection at the launch of Overwatch.”
Blizzard Deletes All Images
This is how Blizzard is reacting: Blizzard has heavily revised the blog post and removed all images from the blog post. Any references to the use of the tool in Overwatch or Call of Duty: Vanguard were also removed thereafter.
It is now stated that they edited the post to show that the tool is not in active development.
They emphasize that the tool is a help, not a replacement for “important efforts of the teams in this matter”. The tool will also not affect hiring goals.
Especially for Activision Blizzard, the issue of “diversity” is particularly important:
The horror year 2021 at Blizzard – All incidents and the future
Even the Overwatch 2 team has tested the tool and is also “enthusiastic” based on initial impressions.
Activision Blizzard Assigns Points for Age, Appearance, Race
What kind of image upset people? They published an image of the heroine Ana from Overwatch with a points system:
- Ana received 7 out of 10 points because her culture is deemed “Egyptian” which seems diverse enough
- “Arabic” for race gets 7 points
- For her age “60” she also receives 6 points
- The physical flaw “Has only one eye” still earns 4 points
- But when it comes to body shape, she gets nothing, as she is described as “slim and curvy”
- Also 0 points for her social status (middle class) and her sexual orientation (heterosexual)
- That she is a woman is still worth 5 points.
In a diagram that represents her points, one can see: She excels in points for culture, race, and age, otherwise she is rather “non-diverse”.
“What does it even mean for one character to have a higher race than another?”
What is the reaction? The reaction was terrible. On Twitter, people said (via twitter):
- “You’re assigning numerical values to race and culture. How could you get that far and not see how twisted that is?”
- “How can you quantify race and sexual orientation – What does it even mean that a character has a higher race than others?”
- “This is embarrassing, just hire diverse people and you will see diverse characters”
Blizzard is also criticized for posting something like this while publicly opposing the establishment of unions.
In a podcast, we critically examined Blizzard’s situation following the sexism scandal of 2021:
Blizzard Employees Distance Themselves from Tool
What is the internal reaction? The reaction to the post is extremely negative. Even the own employees of Overwatch 2 are distancing themselves from the post. However, the blog post stated their first impression was “enthusiastic”.
However, developer Melissa Kelly writes (via twitter):
“God, I swear, our own company is trying so hard to kill every goodwill the devs have built, who actually make the game.
Overwatch doesn’t even use that creepy dystopian chart. Our writers have eyes. Our artists have eyes.”
Kelly says: What really drives the diversity of Overwatch are the developers. Because they are truly from those cultures: That’s the whole secret.
Kelly then posted a sign suggesting that the company is currently ruining the reputation of Activision Blizzard.
Also, the criticism from the designer amounts to the fact that the tool is a “bureaucratic-technical solution” for an obvious imbalance.
As an author from PC Gamer says: “You don’t need a mathematical solution to see that there was no black woman in the character selection at the launch of Overwatch.”
Blizzard Deletes All Images
This is how Blizzard is reacting: Blizzard has heavily revised the blog post and removed all images from the blog post. Any references to the use of the tool in Overwatch or Call of Duty: Vanguard were also removed thereafter.
It is now stated that they edited the post to show that the tool is not in active development.
They emphasize that the tool is a help, not a replacement for “important efforts of the teams in this matter”. The tool will also not affect hiring goals.
Especially for Activision Blizzard, the issue of “diversity” is particularly important:
The horror year 2021 at Blizzard – All incidents and the future
The developer Activision Blizzard (WoW, Call of Duty, Diablo) has introduced a tool that allows the representation of diversity in characters in video games. For example, it uses characters from Overwatch and Call of Duty: Vanguard. What was apparently well-intentioned has received catastrophic feedback. Because Activision Blizzard assigns traits like race, culture, or sexual orientation direct point values.
This is the tool that Activision Blizzard shows: On May 12, Activision Blizzard published a blog post introducing a model that mobile developer King established as early as 2016. The tool is said to have been used in beta testing throughout the company.
The original blog post has since been heavily modified, but is still visible in the web archive (via web.archige.org).
The model is intended to serve:
“To protect against unconscious biases and exclusion that occur during the development of games and their characters”.
It is said: This tool should help all developers at Activision Blizzard challenge entrenched ideas about how characters in video games should look. In this way, they want to create characters that break out of clichés and better represent women, non-binary individuals, and underrepresented minorities in the games.
That is also badly needed, as between 2017 and 2021, 80% of the best-selling video games featured male and white protagonists.
As an example of how the tool is already in use, Activision Blizzard shows the diverse cast of Call of Duty: Vanguard. The results of the tool are said to be “immediately noticeable” and have generated “enthusiasm”.
As an author from PC Gamer says: “You don’t need a mathematical solution to see that there was no black woman in the character selection at the launch of Overwatch.”
Blizzard Deletes All Images
This is how Blizzard is reacting: Blizzard has heavily revised the blog post and removed all images from the blog post. Any references to the use of the tool in Overwatch or Call of Duty: Vanguard were also removed thereafter.
It is now stated that they edited the post to show that the tool is not in active development.
They emphasize that the tool is a help, not a replacement for “important efforts of the teams in this matter”. The tool will also not affect hiring goals.
Especially for Activision Blizzard, the issue of “diversity” is particularly important:
The horror year 2021 at Blizzard – All incidents and the future
However, developer Melissa Kelly writes (via twitter):
“God, I swear, our own company is trying so hard to kill every goodwill the devs have built, who actually make the game.
Overwatch doesn’t even use that creepy dystopian chart. Our writers have eyes. Our artists have eyes.”
Kelly says: What really drives the diversity of Overwatch are the developers. Because they are truly from those cultures: That’s the whole secret.
Kelly then posted a sign suggesting that the company is currently ruining the reputation of Activision Blizzard.
Also, the criticism from the designer amounts to the fact that the tool is a “bureaucratic-technical solution” for an obvious imbalance.
As an author from PC Gamer says: “You don’t need a mathematical solution to see that there was no black woman in the character selection at the launch of Overwatch.”
Blizzard Deletes All Images
This is how Blizzard is reacting: Blizzard has heavily revised the blog post and removed all images from the blog post. Any references to the use of the tool in Overwatch or Call of Duty: Vanguard were also removed thereafter.
It is now stated that they edited the post to show that the tool is not in active development.
They emphasize that the tool is a help, not a replacement for “important efforts of the teams in this matter”. The tool will also not affect hiring goals.
Especially for Activision Blizzard, the issue of “diversity” is particularly important:
The horror year 2021 at Blizzard – All incidents and the future
Even the Overwatch 2 team has tested the tool and is also “enthusiastic” based on initial impressions.
Activision Blizzard Assigns Points for Age, Appearance, Race
What kind of image upset people? They published an image of the heroine Ana from Overwatch with a points system:
- Ana received 7 out of 10 points because her culture is deemed “Egyptian” which seems diverse enough
- “Arabic” for race gets 7 points
- For her age “60” she also receives 6 points
- The physical flaw “Has only one eye” still earns 4 points
- But when it comes to body shape, she gets nothing, as she is described as “slim and curvy”
- Also 0 points for her social status (middle class) and her sexual orientation (heterosexual)
- That she is a woman is still worth 5 points.
In a diagram that represents her points, one can see: She excels in points for culture, race, and age, otherwise she is rather “non-diverse”.
“What does it even mean for one character to have a higher race than another?”
What is the reaction? The reaction was terrible. On Twitter, people said (via twitter):
- “You’re assigning numerical values to race and culture. How could you get that far and not see how twisted that is?”
- “How can you quantify race and sexual orientation – What does it even mean that a character has a higher race than others?”
- “This is embarrassing, just hire diverse people and you will see diverse characters”
Blizzard is also criticized for posting something like this while publicly opposing the establishment of unions.
In a podcast, we critically examined Blizzard’s situation following the sexism scandal of 2021:
Blizzard Employees Distance Themselves from Tool
What is the internal reaction? The reaction to the post is extremely negative. Even the own employees of Overwatch 2 are distancing themselves from the post. However, the blog post stated their first impression was “enthusiastic”.
However, developer Melissa Kelly writes (via twitter):
“God, I swear, our own company is trying so hard to kill every goodwill the devs have built, who actually make the game.
Overwatch doesn’t even use that creepy dystopian chart. Our writers have eyes. Our artists have eyes.”
Kelly says: What really drives the diversity of Overwatch are the developers. Because they are truly from those cultures: That’s the whole secret.
Kelly then posted a sign suggesting that the company is currently ruining the reputation of Activision Blizzard.
Also, the criticism from the designer amounts to the fact that the tool is a “bureaucratic-technical solution” for an obvious imbalance.
As an author from PC Gamer says: “You don’t need a mathematical solution to see that there was no black woman in the character selection at the launch of Overwatch.”
Blizzard Deletes All Images
This is how Blizzard is reacting: Blizzard has heavily revised the blog post and removed all images from the blog post. Any references to the use of the tool in Overwatch or Call of Duty: Vanguard were also removed thereafter.
It is now stated that they edited the post to show that the tool is not in active development.
They emphasize that the tool is a help, not a replacement for “important efforts of the teams in this matter”. The tool will also not affect hiring goals.
Especially for Activision Blizzard, the issue of “diversity” is particularly important:
The horror year 2021 at Blizzard – All incidents and the future
