Activision Blizzard to Pay $54 Million to Settle Sexual Harassment Lawsuit with California

Activision Blizzard has reached a settlement in the 2021 sexual harassment lawsuit with the state of California, agreeing to pay $54 million to the state and an additional $47 million to female employees who worked at the company from 2015 to 2020.

The lawsuit, filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (now known as the California Civil Rights Department), accused Activision Blizzard of fostering a workplace culture plagued by sexual harassment. According to The New York Times, both parties now agree in the settlement that investigations did not find evidence of "systemic or widespread sexual harassment" within the company.

An investigation into Activision's board, including its CEO Bobby Kotick, has found no evidence of wrongdoing according to the settlement agreement, despite allegations made in a 2021 report by The Wall Street Journal claiming Kotick's involvement in hiding knowledge of misconduct at the company. The report made claims that Kotick had made a death threat to a female assistant in 2006 and personally intervened in a separate internal sexual harassment investigation at the company. Previously, Activision Blizzard had dismissed the lawsuit as "irresponsible behavior from unaccountable state bureaucrats."

Following the lawsuit's allegations, Activision Blizzard announced measures to create "a more accountable workplace," including expanding and restructuring the company's Employee Relations and Ethics & Compliance teams. Additionally, it was revealed that more than 20 people involved in "resolved reports" at Activision Blizzard had left the company, with around 20 others facing "disciplinary action."

Activision Blizzard's games were impacted by the lawsuit, particularly Blizzard, which took steps to distance itself from implicated employees. In World of Warcraft, several references to the sole Blizzard employee explicitly named in California's lawsuit were removed. Additionally, the name of the Overwatch character originally named Jesse McCree, after a former Blizzard employee fired following the lawsuit, was changed.

Partially as a result of the lawsuit, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, finalizing the deal this year. The publisher of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft saw a significant drop in its stock price following the lawsuit's accusations, ultimately leading to Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition.

The lawsuit filed against California resulted in employee walkouts at Activision Blizzard, the resignation of Blizzard's then-president J. Allen Brack, and the initiation of unionization efforts at various studios under the Activision Blizzard umbrella. The quality assurance testers at Raven Software and Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions) both successfully formed unions following the lawsuit. Proletariat, another studio acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2022, also attempted to unionize but the union vote was dropped when workers accused Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak of interfering with the election process.

In recent years, Activision Blizzard has settled several other cases. In March 2022, the company settled a separate sexual harassment lawsuit with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $18 million, and in February 2023, they paid $35 million in a settlement to the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) over allegations of failure to disclose information to investors.

According to The New York Times, the 2021 state of California settlement agreement is still subject to court approval and will be filed later this week.

Editor's P/S

As a Gen Z netizen, I am deeply disturbed by the allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct at Activision Blizzard. The fact that the company has agreed to pay a significant settlement amount to the state of California and female employees is a clear indication of the seriousness of the situation. It is unacceptable that employees had to endure such a toxic work environment, and it is crucial that Activision Blizzard takes concrete steps to address these issues and create a safe and respectful workplace for all.

I am also concerned about the impact of these allegations on the gaming industry as a whole. Activision Blizzard is one of the largest and most influential companies in the industry, and its reputation has been severely damaged by this scandal. It is important for the industry to take a stand against sexual harassment and misconduct, and to ensure that all employees are treated with respect and dignity. I hope that other companies will learn from Activision Blizzard's mistakes and take proactive steps to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.