Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick has recently come under fire for his alleged ignorance towards years of sexual misconducts reports within the company. While Kotick publicly disputed these claims, others from the gaming industry were unhappy with the response of Activision Blizzard against such allegations.
PlayStation Chief, Jim Ryan was one of the first to condemn the response of Activision Blizzard against such major allegations against CEO Bobby Kotick which resulted in employee walkout and shareholders demanding resignation from the CEO.
Bloomberg reported that Jim Ryan was “disheartened and frankly stunned” at these allegations and extremely disappointed in Activision’s handling of the situation. In an email to Bloomberg, Jim wrote that Activision Blizzard “has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment.” Ryan also added: “We do not believe their statements of response properly address the situation.”
On Tuesday, a report by WallStreetJournal noted that CEO Bobby Kotick was aware for years of allegations of sexual misconduct at the video game giant. The report also alleged that Bobby Kotick failed to inform the company’s board of directors of “everything he knew”, including a 2018 settlement with a former employee at one of Activision’s studios who was allegedly raped by a supervisor. The lengthy report cites unnamed sources as well as internal company emails and documents.
Later in a statement issued on Tuesday, the Activision Blizzard board of directors said they remain confident in Kotick’s leadership.
“Under Bobby Kotick’s leadership the company is already implementing industry-leading changes including a zero-tolerance harassment policy, a dedication to achieving significant increases to the percentages of women and non-binary people in our workforce, and significant internal and external investments to accelerate opportunities for diverse talent,” reads the statement. “The board remains confident that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention.”
Later a report by The Washington Post mentioned that a group of Shareholders called Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) Investment Group had written a letter to the board of directors calling for Bobby Kotick’s immediate resignation.