All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now. Watch now.
Activision Blizzard announced today on its site that J. Allen Brack is no longer president of Blizzard. Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will be leading the studio going forward.
This move comes a couple of weeks after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard for sex discrimination in the workplace. Brack was named in the report, one of only two people specifically called out, for failing to address issues of sexual harassments at Blizzard. This is the first public personnel move Activision has made since the suit became public.
Brack joined Blizzard in 2005. He worked on the World of Warcraft team until his promotion to Blizzard president in 2018. He replaced Mike Morhaime, one of the company’s cofounders.
Brack was only in charge for a few years, but Blizzard became embroiled in controversy during his tenure at the top. Along with this California suit, the studio came under fire in 2019 after it punished a Hong Kong Hearthstone player for voicing support of his country’s protests against China. The actual games also came under scrutiny, notably the disappointing Warcraft III: Reforged.
Webinar
Three top investment pros open up about what it takes to get your video game funded.
“I am confident that Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will provide the leadership Blizzard needs to realize its full potential and will accelerate the pace of change,” Brack notes in a short message included in Blizzard’s announcement. “I anticipate they will do so with passion and enthusiasm and that they can be trusted to lead with the highest levels of integrity and commitment to the components of our culture that make Blizzard so special.”
The suit from California and other testimonials from ex-Blizzard employees have told of gross and dangerous behavior at Blizzard, including a frat-like culture that encouraged drinking and inappropriate behavior toward woman. Few incidents startle more than the Cosby Suite, a booze-filled hotel party room ran in 2013 by ex-World of Warcraft developer Alex Afrasiabi.
Hundreds of employees staged a walkout at Blizzard on July 28, protesting its leadership’s response to the California suit and promoting four demands for change: an end to mandatory arbitration clauses in all employee contracts; the adoption of recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and promotion policies designed to improve representation among all employees; publication of data on relative compensation; and a task force to hire a third party to audit the company’s reporting structure, HR department, and executive staff. These remain unaddressed so far.
Jen Oneal joined Blizzard in January. She was the head of Vicarious Visions, which Activision Blizzard absorbed into Blizzard earlier this year. Mike Ybarra left Xbox to join Blizzard in 2018, becoming executive vice president and general manager of platform and technology. Both of them are relative outsiders to Blizzard, which may help them combat the studio’s long-lived toxic culture.
Activision Blizzard is reporting its earnings for its latest financial quarter later today, which may explain the timing of this announcement.
Later this day, a coalition of Activision Blizzard workers called the ABK Workers Alliance released a letter to senior leadership, including Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. IGN has published the letter. It criticizes leadership’s choice of the WilmerHale law firm to do an internal review of the company, noting that “WilmerHale’s pre-existing relationships with Activision Blizzard and its executives create an unacceptable conflict of interest.” It also notes that “WilmerHale has a history of discouraging workers’ rights and collective action.” This is based on the firms past involvement with Amazon and Uber. The letter also calls on leadership to address the four demands noted earlier in this story.
The letter ends with the message, “We are doing what we can, and we call on you to do what we cannot.”
GamesBeat
GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. How will you do that? Membership includes access to:- Newsletters, such as DeanBeat
- The wonderful, educational, and fun speakers at our events
- Networking opportunities
- Special members-only interviews, chats, and "open office" events with GamesBeat staff
- Chatting with community members, GamesBeat staff, and other guests in our Discord
- And maybe even a fun prize or two
- Introductions to like-minded parties
"Short" - Google News
August 03, 2021 at 09:55PM
https://ift.tt/3jj6E35
J. Allen Brack’s short, tumultuous run in charge of Blizzard is over - VentureBeat
"Short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QJPxcA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "J. Allen Brack’s short, tumultuous run in charge of Blizzard is over - VentureBeat"
Post a Comment