After a lawsuit by a California agency over sexism against Activision Blizzard, the gaming studio Blizzard is particularly under fire. After the lawsuit, some former employees of Blizzard spoke out and shared their experiences with the renowned game manufacturer (WoW, Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone).
This is the background:
- A few days ago, the lawsuit from a California agency against Activision Blizzard was made public. This followed a two-year investigation. The lawsuit repeatedly accused Activision Blizzard of paying and treating women worse than men. Additionally, there were numerous cases of sexual harassment in the company that were not properly addressed. Many of the allegations were directed at Blizzard, specifically at the WoW team.
- In an initial statement, Activision Blizzard denied these allegations. They claimed they were distorted and false. However, internally emails circulate assuring employees that these allegations are taken very seriously.
- On Twitter, some former developers from Blizzard have come forward to share their experiences in the company.
“It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t seen cocaine being used”
This is what former employees of Blizzard say: On Reddit, there is a list of 29 former employees at Blizzard who have commented on the tweets (via reddit).
An employee, Cher Scarlett, was at Blizzard for about a year from 2015 to 2016. She works as a software engineer. Scarlett writes about the allegations:
“This was long overdue. I would really struggle to find someone who hasn’t witnessed how sex happened in the gamer lounge, how cocaine was used in bathrooms during a cube crawl, or who hasn’t at least once seen a woman being sexually harassed.
Blizzard has claimed that the agency’s report is false/misleading/irresponsible. I can tell you: I knew what was in the report before I read it, from my time there. And I was only there for a year. I saw ‘ALL THESE THINGS’.”
Cher Scarlett, Software Engineer, 1 year at Blizzard
The developer says she spoke with employees and cried with joy that everything was finally coming to light. She had even received a complaint from one of her harassers after she had complained about harassment herself.
She had to witness how some of her closest friends were repeatedly traumatized. It was terrible for her that the “men in power” were repeatedly rewarded over the last years. Seeing their names in the report means everything to her.
The developer now works for Apple.
“I made up many excuses to stay at Blizzard because it was so cool to work there”
Another employee was at Blizzard for 6 years until she left the company in April 2019. She says:
“It’s been 2.5 years, and I still carry a lot of pain from my time at Blizzard. I stayed too long (7 years) and held onto the label ‘Blizzard’. Now I’m finally at a company that pays me fairly and treats me fairly.”
Nicki Broderick, Producer, 6 years at Blizzard
She says that she started at Blizzard as an intern at 20 and thought it was normal to be treated that way – that’s just how it is in the gaming industry. When she complained, she was told by HR: “You’re acting like a brat.”
For a long time, she believed she had to endure this to get ahead and get promoted. Ultimately, she made up a lot of excuses to keep working at Blizzard because it was so cool to work for Blizzard.
The developer now works as a producer for “Second Dinner”, the company of Hearthstone guru Ben Brode.
A male former employee of Blizzard is now at Riot. He says:
“I saw a lot of these things and more happening to my female colleagues during my time at Blizzard: Many cases of discrimination and harassment were swept under the rug. We were told the problematic people were ‘too high up’ to do anything about. Some things never change.”
Bret Forbes, Community Manager, 3 years at Blizzard
The developer says there are also many great people in the company who are fighting hard for change. He believes Blizzard is currently in a phase of change.
Big problem: Reports to HR didn’t help
What is the general tone? The tone in the news is very personal, often split. Many seem to struggle with their time at Blizzard. Some say they admire the courage of the women who are now coming forward. They themselves are not ready for that yet. Others regret that they endured things during their time at Blizzard to avoid jeopardizing their jobs. One employee says, for instance, that she is currently being laid off by Blizzard and therefore does not want to speak up.
However, there are some things that stand out from the postings of the nearly 30 former employees:
- Many emphasize that there are great people at Blizzard, they love the games there and loved the job itself
- But some people in power positions really behaved poorly
- It is repeatedly emphasized that victims of sexual harassment and discrimination felt helpless because they could not turn to HR
- Many cases had already been reported years ago – but the reports had resulted in nothing. They had rather backfired on the complainants
- One person says: “You only go to HR if you want the whole company to talk about the topic” (via twitter)
- It is also made clear that these complaints had nothing to do with Activision, the problems did not only start with the acquisition by Activision, but this is actually a ‘Blizzard’ problem
In WoW, players protested against the behavior of some Blizzard employees:
WoW players demonstrate against Blizzard – staging sit-ins, slaughtering NPCs
