Earlier this week, a new report regarding Activision Blizzard detailed that CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of the sexual harassment allegations that the state of California sued the company for. This led to another walkout from its employees and an outcry of support for Kotick’s resignation from the company. As of today, there are two petitions demanding his removal, one from employees, the other from non-employees. Furthermore, Xbox head Phil Spencer and PlayStation boss Jim Ryan criticized Activision Blizzard and its handling of the situation in emails sent to their employees.
Microsoft Corp’s head of Xbox said that he’s “evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing, proactive adjustments.” The email to staff by Phil Spencer also said that he and the gaming leadership team are “disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions” at Activision Blizzard. “This type of behavior has no place in our industry.” In the email, Spencer took things further and said that he would take action.
Sony Group Corp’s PlayStation Chief wrote in an email to employees that he and his leadership were “disheartened and frankly stunned to read” that Activision “has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment. We outreached to Activision immediately after the article was published to express our deep concern and to ask how they plan to address the claims made in the article. We do not believe their statements of response properly address the situation.”
“We respect all feedback from our valued partners and are engaging with them further,” Activision Blizzard said in a statement. “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.”
As of now, over 1,000 Activision Blizzard employees have signed the petition. The petition encompasses virtually every part of Activision Blizzard’s business. Employees from Activision Blizzard, King, Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Toys For Bob, and other studios have signed the petition. “We, the undersigned, no longer have confidence in the leadership of Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision Blizzard. The information that has come to light about his behaviors and practices in the running of our companies runs counter to the culture and integrity we require of our leadership-and directly conflicts with the initiatives started by our peers. We ask that Bobby Kotick remove himself as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and that shareholders be allowed to select the new CEO without the input of Bobby, who we are aware owns a substantial portion of the voting rights of the shareholders,” the petition reads.
The other petition from Change.org has passed 10,000 signatures. The petition says “Bobby Kotick has proved that he does not care about his employees, and that he is not fit to be the CEO of Activision Blizzard. This petition will not guarantee his removal, but it will show him that we are not okay with him blatantly ignoring the cries of his employees. Having a petition with Activision Blizzard consumer signatures should show him how much we think he is unfit for his position. He has taken advantage of his employees for years, and this petition is only a small stepping stone. It is absolutely horrendous that someone with such power looks past all the cries of help. This petition will show that he has had his time as CEO, and he clearly cannot do it well. He needs to be removed.”