Activision Blizzard is still in turmoil and a new actor has just entered the scandal by filing a new complaint.
This time, it is the city of New York which attacks the American giant and more precisely its CEO Bobby Kotick.
New York goes after Bobby Kotick
Retirement organizations and pension funds in New York indeed come fromaccuse Bobby Kotick of having devalued the company and accelerated the takeover of Activision Blizzard to silence the scandals and save his butt the same time. The plaintiffs therefore requested access to several files, in particular those relating to the other potential buyers
Given Kotick’s personal liability and responsibility for the business that destabilizes Activision, it should have been clear to the board that he was unfit to negotiate a sale of the company.
I have to say that Bobby Kotick drags himself a hell of a list of accusations: harassment, sexual harassment, death threat, insider trading… the list is long and for the moment, the only thing which prevents Kotick from jumping it is indeed the takeover of his company. Despite everything, Activision returns the accusations to the ropes and says it is ready to go to court.
We do not agree with the allegations made in this complaint and look forward to presenting our case to the Court.
Activision Blizzard is therefore not out of the inn and its image continues to take a big hit, even if part of the cases have already been settled with several million dollars. Employees, on the other hand, are slowly but surely starting to get what they want and the first union should soon open its doors. A first in the American industry.
The administration does not prefer to stir the mud
Moreover, New York has also requested that Activision Blizzard report annually on actions taken against harassment and improvements within the company.the same kind of document that Quantic Dream did recently, like many other companies elsewhere.
Except that for the pundits of Activision, it’s out of the question and these have asked shareholders to vote against this measure which, according to them, would bring nothing to the company, and would not target the real problems.
While the board appreciates hearing the views of our shareholders, we do not believe this proposal is in the best interest of the company or its shareholders. […] It would be better to devote energy and resources to the creation of another report to continue to respond directly to employee concerns.
Focusing our full attention on these concerns is the best, fastest and most effective way to create real change in our workplace.
Second, the proposed report itself, even if completed after considerable time and expense, would create a set of metrics that are simply not the best metrics the business needs to effectively address employee concerns. […] The board is committed to accurately measuring the speed and effectiveness of our changesand not on the basis of parameters that are not precisely adapted to the situation of our company.
For now, therefore, Activision is still in a black mud, but the firm does not lose the north and continues its current projects. The shareholders have let it be known that they are all in favor of the merger with Microsoft, which will be decided a little later, and Acti BliBli games will continue to flourish on the market. Moreover, big releases are planned this year, including Diablo Immortal on computer by summeror even Modern Warfare 2 at the end of 2022.
Source: www.gamesindustry.biz, www.gamesindustry.biz
