index blizzard
[Link] New lawsuit calls Kotick’s handling of Activision-Microsoft merger “inexcusable”
Read: 6/5/2022 arstechnica.com
The Activision-Blizzard shareholders' response to a whirlwind of news over the past year—which include disturbing, company-wide allegations of sexual harassment and pay disparity, followed by a $68.
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[Link] Report: SEC investigating Activision Blizzard investors for insider trading
Read: 9/3/2022 arstechnica.com
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating three investors for alleged massive insider trading just ahead of Microsoft's January announcement of merger plans with Activision Blizzard, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
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[Link] How Activision Blizzard employees made CEO Bobby Kotick powerless in just 30 minutes
Read: 2/12/2021 esports.gg
Amidst calls for resignation, CEO Bobby Kotick seemed to be all but untouchable. Blizzard employees proved him wrong in 30 minutes. Someone like Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will do whatever it takes to hold onto their power.
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[Link] Coder Spends 1,200 Hours Piecing Together Diablo's Source Code
Read: 29/11/2021 kotaku.com
If not for a few oversights on Blizzard’s part, the original Diablo’s source code would likely be lost to time. However, thanks to those oversights and some serious dedication from one coder, people can now see (and tinker around with) what makes Diablo tick.
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[Link] Orgs Affiliated With Craven Activision Blizzard Board Members Remain Silent
Read: 19/11/2021 www.vice.com
As shareholders, employees, and the top executives of both Playstation and Microsoft condemn the leadership of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, the board of directors still stands behind him. Bobby Kotick is having a bad week.
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[Link] Workers Walk Out As Board, Company Stand Behind Activision Blizzard CEO Accused of Covering Up Sexual Abuse
Read: 16/11/2021 www.vice.com
Activision Blizzard’s board of directors says it stands by CEO Bobby Kotick after a Wall Street Journal report alleged that he hid assault and harassment at the company from the board. Meanwhile, employees have reportedly walked out.
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[Link] Garry Kasparov is diamond 5 in Hearthstone, but reckons 'if I make a push I can go to legend rank'
Read: 7/11/2021 www.pcgamer.com
Garry Kasparov may be the best chess player in history, but it turns out he's partial to throwing down in Hearthstone's tavern, where he of course faces considerably more RNG than during the day job.
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[Link] Activision Blizzard ends forced arbitration as CEO takes a massive pay cut
Read: 31/10/2021 www.theverge.com
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent a letter updating employees on the further steps he and the company will take to change its image in the wake of multiple sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits.
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[Link] Call of Duty marketing finds a new level of tastelessness
Read: 26/10/2021 www.pcgamer.com
The latest marketing push for Call of Duty: Vanguard wants you to believe its graphics are so realistic that conflict photographers can't tell the difference between the videogame and reality.
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[Link] 'Legacy code' in Diablo 2: Resurrected is causing widespread connection headaches
Read: 17/10/2021 www.pcgamer.com
The first few weeks of Diablo 2: Resurrected have not gone especially smoothly. At launch, players reported troubles with disappearing or locked-out characters, and some were unable to start the game at all.
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[Link] Cheat Maker Is Not Afraid of Call of Duty’s New Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat
Read: 13/10/2021 www.vice.com
Activision announced its new anti-cheat system, called RICOCHET, on Monday. The company also said the new system will run in the kernel, the core of the operating system, which controls and has access to most of the computer's functions.
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[Link] Activision sued by another federal agency, settles lawsuit for $18 million
Read: 10/10/2021 www.pcgamer.com
Earlier today the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard after a three year investigation into alleged workplace discrimination.
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[Link] Activision Blizzard’s QA Department Seems Like A Hellhole
Read: 15/8/2021 kotaku.com
Long hours. Low pay. Tremendous instability. Working in quality assurance (QA) for a video game studio is notoriously difficult and painstaking enough as it is without factors like these complicating matters.
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[Link] Overwatch League Casters Stop Saying McCree’s Name
Read: 15/8/2021 kotaku.com
McCree is Overwatch’s iconic gunslinger, but some casters commentating over official competitions are now avoiding saying his name.
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[Link] Activision Blizzard shareholder calls cultural reform plans 'deficient' and 'inadequate'
Read: 13/8/2021 www.gamasutra.com
As reported by Axios, a letter penned by SOC executive director Dieter Waizenegger suggests the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft maker hasn't outlined any changes that would address key issues and usher in meaningful change.
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[Link] Diablo 2 Resurrected Open Beta Date Leaked
Read: 9/8/2021 comicbook.com
It looks as though the open beta date for Diablo II: Resurrected, which is the upcoming remaster of the classic loot-action game, has leaked ahead of its formal announcement.
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[Link] Fan Booed At Blizzcon 2010 Q&A Reflects on the Reaction from Developers and Fans
Read: 8/8/2021 www.wowhead.com
The woman who asked the question about female diversity in a recently-resurfaced 2010 Blizzcon Q&A has spoken up about the experience, reflecting on the crowd booing her, the unsatisfactory replies from the developers, and why the interaction is back in the news due to the lawsuit.
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[Link] Activision may have fired a few employees, but with people like Fran Townsend still in charge, some don’t expect real change
Read: 7/8/2021 www.destructoid.com
Activision Blizzard has offered forth its initial salvo of sacrificial lambs. Blizzard President J. Allen “I despise frat boy culture/Heroes of the Storm killer/half-hearted Hearthstone debacle apologizer” (what a mark in just a few years!) Brack and the head of Blizzard HR are out.
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[Link] Activision Blizzard Employees Form Coalition, Reject CEO's Choice of Law Firm
Read: 5/8/2021 www.ign.com
We are The ABK Workers Alliance, an organized group of current Activision Blizzard, Inc. employees committed to defending our right to a safe and equitable workplace.
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[Link] Activision Blizzard Faces Second Lawsuit Over First Lawsuit
Read: 4/8/2021 kotaku.com
A class action lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court of Central California on behalf of investors alleges that Activision Blizzard’s intentional failure to disclose its ongoing problems with sexual harassment and discrimination artificially inflated the company’s stock value.
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[Link] Blizzard confirms developer named in lawsuit was removed for “misconduct”
Read: 31/7/2021 arstechnica.com
Last year, reports started to bubble up among Blizzard-watchers that longtime World of Warcraft developer Alex Afrasiabi, who was first hired in 2004, had quietly left the company without any official explanation.
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[Link] Bobby Kotick finally responds to Activision Blizzard employees: our initial response was 'tone deaf'
Read: 31/7/2021 www.pcgamer.com
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has issued a letter to all employees in the wake of a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment and discrimination at the company.
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[Link] Over 1,000 Activision Blizzard Employees Sign Letter Condemning Company's Response To Allegations
Read: 27/7/2021 kotaku.com
“Following the announcement from Activision Blizzard, and in light of the internal memo circulated by Frances Townsend, a group of over 800 employees from across all of Activision-Blizzard-King and its subsidiaries came together to take action,” a representative of the group told Kotaku.
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[Link] Blizzard Boss Accused Of Failing To Address Sexual Harassment Calls New Allegations ‘Troubling’
Read: 24/7/2021 www.kotaku.com.au
In the email, first reported by ’s Jason Schreier, a copy of which was also viewed by Kotaku, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack wrote, “I personally have a lot of emotions coming out of yesterday, and I know you do, too.
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