The Securities and Exchange Commission enters the fight.
The situation with Activision Blizzard just got worse. A fair bit worse. In addition to the lawsuit by the state of California and that ensuing fallout, the massive developer can now count the United States federal government as one of the parties snooping into its behavior. The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued subpoenas to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and other senior level executives as part of an investigation into the allegations of discrimination and harassment.
Today’s announcement follows July’s lawsuit brought on by the California DFEH lawsuit which has since inspired a lawsuit by Activision investors, as well as various boycotts by members of the public and the press toward Activision products. Activision stock has lost approximately 17% of its value since the California lawsuit was announced, and the company has seen numerous high level managers either fired as part of the abusive culture, or resigning their positions including Blizzard president J. Allen Brack.
But if there’s one entity that doesn’t seem to be taking the lawsuits seriously, it’s Activision Blizzard. With the eyes of the public, its employees, and now multiple investigations, employees at the company don’t seem to be getting much better treatment. Over the last week the U.S. National Labor Relations Board received a complaint that Activision is violating federal labor laws by illegally prohibiting employees from talking about topics like wages and hours, as well as surveilling and threatening employees over legal activism.
The results of the investigations are still yet to be seen, as well as whether Activision Blizzard will continue acting out in the face of investigations, employee walkouts, and immense scrutiny from the public and their investors.
MMO Fallout 