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Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

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Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#21

Post by madamelic »

0x500x79 wrote: post #13

This seems to largely match a lot of the same things that happened with Riot Games over the last couple of years. I am hoping that these actions can help spread awareness of any issues that may be present at Blizzard and past, current, and future employees won't face the same issues. It is a long road to be traveled to get there. I hope that the current WFH situation doesn't detract from the walkout. A lot of the vis…

> is the DFEH out of line, or is the industry just that broken?

No chance DEFH is out of line.

The tech industry is strongly biased in the favor of white men in my opinion and video games even more so, considering women playing video games only became socially acceptable a few years ago. It's still common for men to talk down to women on video games, to the point where the overwhelming majority of women do not use voice comms or make their gender known.

Think about all those men complaining that a video game _dared_ have a female character or even more so, a non-conventionally attractive one gasp. That was in 2018... That's the _average_ person who is making a video game.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#22

Post by JohnWhigham »

prohobo wrote: post #7
woxko wrote: post #4

Anybody knows if this is going to affect the release of the remastered Diablo?

Unlikely, since the remaster is being done by a different company (contract).

AB actually bought them, so they're now AB employees.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#23

Post by shadowgovt »

Interesting. I've been thinking that based on how high up the chain of command the allegations suggest Activision's cultural problems are, it seemed a lot like the only way for Activision to "right the ship" would be to replace senior leadership (including possibly up to the CEO level).

I found that outcome unlikely, but if the employees put pressure on ownership in this way, it may perhaps create enough incentive for the ownership to oust the top-level leadership. Not sure.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#24

Post by dleslie »

bagacrap wrote: post #15
runlevel1 wrote: post #6

> Why it matters: Walkouts are a drastic measure for developers in a largely non-unionized field, a testament to just how angry employees currently are. It sends a message, but I wouldn't say it's _that_ drastic considering the demand for developers and difficulty hiring in the Orange County area.

Yeah I don't think Blizzard is going to be able to bring in scabs to replace software devs. This comment reveals how poorly the industry is understood by outsiders, or at least this one journo.

I don't think they'll introduce "scabs" simply because it would be a marketing _disaster_.

However, I work in the industry, and I think you'd be shocked by how replaceable American developers are. Huge amounts of artistic labour _is_ done cheaply, and in relatively decent quality, oversees in countries like South Korea, China, Japan, and to a lesser extent, Thailand.

Here in Canada, we have a thriving industry that includes both primary developers and developers who focus on outsourced work. Most of my career has been involved with shops that were sub-contracted labour from American studios.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#25

Post by whymauri »

madamelic wrote: post #9
irrational wrote: post #3

Man, how terrible must their working conditions be that they talk about what day, instead of what hour, they will leave for home.

As much as I do support them, Blizzard employees frequently strike me as obsessed with social media perception and staying woke rather than doing what's right even if it is inconvenient for them personally. The ones who are actually affected don't work at Blizzard anymore. The time to walk out was _years ago_. There's no chance it was wide-spread knowledge that one of the executives was assaulting people at work and…

From what I've heard of the working environment, it's borderline impossible to be employed there without at least _seeing_ what was going on to your colleagues. I mean, I remember reading about sexual harassment there in 2018, at which point it had _already_ been going on for a while.

Agree that this seems a tad late.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#26

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

woxko wrote: post #4

Anybody knows if this is going to affect the release of the remastered Diablo?

Did we learn nothing from Warcraft 3 Remastered? Don't preorder, don't look forward to it. They have to prove it's good, we can't trust anymore.

Plus, you know, I'm not buying it because Blizzard is straight up ghoulish.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#27

Post by 908B64B197 »

j_walter wrote: post #18

> The suit was followed by an outpouring of current and former employees saying they’d been harassed or mistreated at the company. I never understand why in the world we currently live in there are so many people willing to be silent for so long. Weinstein did his crap for years, the US gymnastics assaults went on for years. This probably isn't a popular opinion...but when victims choose to remain silent they are com…

> Weinstein did his crap for years, the US gymnastics assaults went on for years.

Both gatekeepers for Hollywood and the Olympics.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#28

Post by __s »

yosito wrote: post #16

Does anyone have any more specific information aside from "widespread sexism"? It would be good to know exactly what is prompting this walkout, and exactly what changes they're hoping to achieve with it.

https://www.polygon.com/22595703/activision-blizzard-employe... quotes demands verbatim

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#29

Post by abrawill »

j_walter wrote: post #18

> The suit was followed by an outpouring of current and former employees saying they’d been harassed or mistreated at the company. I never understand why in the world we currently live in there are so many people willing to be silent for so long. Weinstein did his crap for years, the US gymnastics assaults went on for years. This probably isn't a popular opinion...but when victims choose to remain silent they are com…

You don't have to be a victim to do something about it.

When any of us remain silent when we witness or hear about abuse we are allowing other people to be victimized now and in the future.

Re: Video game developers at Activision Blizzard say they'll walk out Wednesday

#30

Post by madamelic »

waythrifty5746 wrote: post #12

Good, walkouts are an effective way to drive organizational change. We had massive walkouts at Wayfair due to our policy of selling furniture to US Customs concentration camps that held tens of thousands of children. Only took Wayfair a few years to somewhat change their policy in a roundabout and nondescript way, but at least some movement took place.

Maybe an asshole question, but did this change in policy occur pre or post election?

I can't seem to find an article of them changing policy, only that the outcry happened in late 2019 which made me wonder.

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