Demands for Ubisoft and Blizzard reform going unanswered, complain sexual harassment campaigners
Several hundred Activision Blizzard employees stage a walkout in response to the sexual harassment allegations (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Pressure groups from Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard have claimed their demands for cultural reform have been unanswered.
ABetterUbisoft and ABetterABK were launched in the wake of sexual harassment lawsuits in both companies.
Both groups are demanding changes in their respective companies, yet despite open letters, walkouts and social media pressure, their demands have not been answered by senior management.
ABetterABK shared their demands on Twitter, including an end to mandatory arbitration clauses, diverse recruitment practices, compensation data made public, and support for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion task force.
The “chief suite” has failed to acknowledge these demands.
Our demands remain as follows and chief suite still fails to acknowledge them. #ABetterABK #EndAbuseInGaming ? pic.twitter.com/4Tk7aV9DjD
— ABetterABK (@ABetterABK) September 2, 2021
ABetterUbisoft also shared similar details on Twitter, claiming that despite 1,000 employees signing an open letter to management, there has been no response after 38 days.
One of their demands, specifically, is to stop moving known abusers from studio to studio without repercussions. “This cycle needs to end,” they say.
#EndAbuseInGaming #ABetterUbisoft pic.twitter.com/AQgsjbL6jU— ABetterUbisoft (@ABetterUbisoft) September 4, 2021
Activision Blizzard employees penned an open letter to management following the sexual harassment lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing that shook the gaming industry over the summer.
The letter demanded that senior leadership “recognise[s] the seriousness of these allegations and demonstrate compassion for victims of harassment and assault”.
Ubisoft staff followed suit, with their own open letter in solidarity with Activision Blizzard staff.
Ubisoft was rocked a year earlier by sexual harassment allegations, though many known offenders remain at the company having moved to different studios or teams.
Activision Blizzard fired three of their top designers and the head of Blizzard, J. Allen Brack, stepped down from his position.
In addition, they’ve changed the name of Overwatch character Jesse McCree who was named after a disgraced developer.
Beyond this, no long term systematic changes have been made to meet the demands of the pressure groups.
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