Multiple state treasurers have joined the building pressure on Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard after the company was accused of a "frat-boy" environment, sexual harassment being rife in the workplace, and unequal pay. The wish for change has been evolving since news initially broke in July.

The gaming world was rocked when the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) declared it was investigating Activision Blizzard, the company behind Call of Duty, Overwatch, and other incredibly popular titles. The DFEH accused the publisher of accomodating sexual misconduct and assault. Initially Activision Blizzard denied these allegations, and only two weeks ago claimed to be standing by its CEO. This was much to the disappointment of its workforce, who staged walk outs and held petitions to keep Activision Blizzard accountible for its actions.

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Now, treasurers from California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon, Delaware, and Nevada are looking for the company to take action. Illinois state treasurer Michael Frerichs said "we think there needs to be sweeping changes made in the company." With the involvement of state treasurers, the game publisher are now facing pressure from those who are willing to utilize billions of dollars to trigger corporate change. The treasurers have joined others in slamming CEO Bobby Kotick and the company's response following the allegations, believe the current board do not have the "skillset" or "conviction" to transform their culture, and have since requested a meeting for Dec 20th to make a further investigation. It seems Activision Blizzard would rather keep things in house though, as recently it formed a Workplace Responsibility Committee out of its own Board Members.

Activision Blizzard logo

This is not the first time heavy-hitters have shared their shock at the accusations Activision Blizzard are facing. The three major console manufacturers, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, have all spoken out against Activision, workplace harassment, and sexual misconduct. Xbox boss Phil Spencer joined the chorus of big names in the industry criticizing Activision Blizzard, stating that the platform owner is "evaluating all aspects of [its] relationship" with the publisher. Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser also spoke out, sending an email to all Nintendo of America employees, sharing how toxicity runs counter to what Nintendo stands for.

More than twenty Activision Blizzard employees have been fired directly as a result of the controversy, and more have chosen to leave Activision Blizzard to make their stance against harassment known. Bobby Kotick, Activision CEO, has been accused of being aware of the "frat boy" environment and actively supressing those who sought to speak out against it. Calls for his resignation have been building, and more than 1,000 employees signed a petition calling for Kotick to leave the company. The six treasurers are also backing this, though at least for the minute, Kotick is holding on to his position.

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Source: Axios