Activision Blizzard has found itself embroiled in a swamp of accusations, lawsuits, and increasingly disturbing allegations since the State of California lawsuit hit over the summer of 2021. The company was accused of having a toxic, "frat boy" atmosphere that encouraged harassment, particularly toward female and LGBT employees. The allegations have drawn a lot of negative attention, and now Xbox is reportedly re-evaluating its relationship with Activision.
The Activision controversy is now a sprawling mess, leading to Activision firing over 20 employees as a direct result of the attention. This attempt to keep its reputation above water does not seem to have succeeded, especially now that the spotlight has been placed on Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.
Bobby Kotick has been recently accused of not just being aware of the toxic workplace environment, but also participating in the mistreatment of several women. These allegations have led some employees to demand his resignation, and according to gaming journalist Jason Schreier on Twitter, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has also gotten in on the action. Phil Spencer is reportedly "deeply disturbed" by Bobby Kotick's behavior and is now evaluating the relationship between Xbox and Activision--a significant move, given that most of Activision's gaming library is published on Xbox consoles and Xbox Live helped the Call of Duty franchise to become a sensation.
A group of Activision Blizzard shareholders has already called for Bobby Kotick to resign, and over 500 employees have signed a petition asking for his removal. Additionally, Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation Chief Jim Ryan has also weighed in to express disapproval towards Activision. While much of the legal turmoil appears to be rooted in Activision's treatment of real-life women and LGBT folks, the company has made several attempts to salvage its reputation by changing aspects of its games. This includes changing an Overwatch character's name from Jesse McCree to Cole Cassidy, a notable move because the real-life McCree was also implicated in the harassment accusations.
It appears that fans have mixed opinions about this move. Some Twitter users have noted that if both Xbox and PlayStation put pressure on Activision, they could have a serious impact on the company's profits. Other users question why both companies responded to the Activision Blizzard controversy but not to the Ubisoft controversy back in 2020. One possible answer is that there's significantly more documented behavior in this case.