At the DICE Awards 2022, the highlight of the show this time was not the awarding of various prizes to outstanding games. Instead, host Greg Miller had a clear message for the controversial boss of Activision-Blizzard. What was said and why, you’ll find out here on MeinMMO.
What are the DICE Awards? The abbreviation DICE stands for Design, Innovate, Communicate, and Entertain and refers to a conference in the video game industry. As part of this conference, an important award ceremony takes place, the DICE Awards.
They are commonly understood as the “Oscars of the gaming industry.” In 2022, it was that time again, and under the moderation of industry experts Jessica Chobot and Greg Miller, awards were presented, including to Halo Infinite for Best Action and Online Game.
Host says live what he thinks of Activision-Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick and the audience is shocked
What did Greg Miller say? But the real highlight of the show this time was not the awards, but the speech of host Greg Miller. He spoke longer about certain things in the industry that he did not like. It started with the generally controversial NFTs and ended with a clear statement towards Bobby Kotick, the controversial CEO of Activision-Blizzard:
We cannot talk about the industry we love so much without addressing the reports of harassment and abuse that we hear about Activision-Blizzard and other companies. But since this is a formal event being broadcast live to viewers around the world, I will just say “F… Bobby Kotick!” … Come on, I’m just kidding … “Fuck Bobby Kotick!!!”
What are the background details? As Miller already mentioned, there have been various cases of abuse and discrimination at Blizzard recently, which ultimately led to concrete charges from a government agency in the USA.
During this crisis CEO Bobby Kotick was reportedly aware of the incidents and at one point threatened employees. He is currently one of the most controversial figures in the industry.
However, Kotick remains the CEO of Activision Blizzard, even after the planned acquisition by Microsoft. There are suspicions that he will not remain CEO for long.
How was the statement received? Miller’s statement was received somewhat reservedly by the audience. Most seemed not to immediately grasp what had just been said live. Miller himself had discussed the action with the organizers beforehand and said, “I think the audience did not expect me to be so tough [on Kotick].”
On Twitter, where Miller’s statement is also visible, the response has been positive. Many users celebrate the clear words towards a controversial figure in the industry and call it brave and courageous. However, some users also feel that it is not particularly brave to criticize someone in a room full of like-minded people who isn’t there.
A statement from Kotick or Activision is still pending.
More current information about Activision-Blizzard can be found here: Microsoft began the acquisition of Activision Blizzard just 3 days after a damaging report about the CEO
