Is not entirely sure how long this will go on.
Activision Blizzard is currently embroiled in a lawsuit from the state of California regarding civil rights violations regarding the company’s treatment of female workers. You can read all about it here. Since the lawsuit was filed its announcement spurred a series of boycotts from members of the press who will no longer be covering Activision Blizzard games, as well as Ubisoft, until both companies can prove that they are fixing systemic abuse problems and dealing with toxic employees.
Today’s news however deals with the game itself. In a series of posts on Twitter, senior system designer Jeff Hamilton posted the news that “almost no work is being done on World of Warcraft” while the lawsuit plays out. Hamilton goes on to say that “Activision’s response to this is currently taking a group of world-class developers and making them so mad and traumatized they’re rendered unable to keep making a great game.”
I don’t know what to do. I don’t have all the answers. I can tell you, almost no work is being done on World of Warcraft right now while this obscenity plays out. And that benefits nobody – not the players, not the developers, not the shareholders.
— Jeff Hamilton (@JeffAHamilton) July 25, 2021
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Hamilton’s mention of the shareholders brings an interesting point, because if there is anyone who can force a restructuring at Activision Blizzard it’s the shareholders. Activision’s properties are in turmoil. The press is boycotting them, players are boycotting them, and the lawsuit and ensuing damage to employee relations and public relations is surely going to be disastrous.
Not good at all.
MMO Fallout 