The situation of Bobby Kotick, still CEO of Activision Blizzard, is untenable for weeks. And yet both he and his board of directors seem to be most distracted by anything else, perhaps observing the views from the windows, which prevent them from seeing the fire already spreading beneath their feet. Either that or there are strong reasons for the board to keep Kotick. Which? I have no idea, but I can’t think of another plausible explanation.
Be that as it may, since the more than toxic work culture of Activision Blizzard was uncovered, which after being investigated for two years has been denounced by the state of California, the reactions have not stopped happening, and although some rejection could be expected on the part From the rest of the industry, it has been a surprise, in my opinion the most pleasant, to see how Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have reacted criticizing what happened and, in some cases, even considering their relationship with the company. Yes, the three console manufacturers, doesn’t seem like a good position for a game developer.
Even before the first statements were made by other companies, it was Activision Blizzard workers themselves who decided to stand up and start a strike, whose main requirement is the resignation of the CEO, together with the ability to supervise the measures adopted to solve all the problems of the prevailing work culture in the company.
For now, the only response from the CEO, in addition to apologizing to his board of directors when it became known that he had knowledge of what was happening at Activision Blizzard, was to raise his possible resignation. Yes, possible, as it would occur in the event that you were not able to fix problems quickly enough. This is sensational, of course, since this does not set dates, it does not imply deadlines. And since for a long time he was aware of what was happening and did nothing (except in cases, in which he participated in its concealment), I’m afraid your concept of speed will not be, sorry for the redundancy, something fast.
And now we know that the pressure is mounting, even more, on Kotick. And it is that as we can read in Ars Technica, Several U.S. State Treasurers Have Joined Activision Blizzard’s Call for Radical Measures. In a letter sent by the state treasurers of California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon to the company, they request to meet with the board of directors in search of a solution to the problem that the current situation poses to investors. This group is considering the possibility of asking for a vote against the current management team.
«We believe that radical changes are necessary in the company“Said Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs. «We are concerned that the current CEO and the directors of the board do not have the skills and conviction to institute these radical changes necessary to transform their culture, to restore trust with employees, shareholders and partners.«. It seems that the life raft of the still CEO of Activision Blizzard is getting smaller every day, in the middle of a truly immense ocean.
