Activision Blizzard is back in hot water thanks to CEO Bobby Kotick

A damning Wall Street Journal report has claimed Bobby Kotick was aware of the allegations of misconduct and mistreatment within his company, and it’s only been getting worse since then. 

In the Wall Street Journal’s report, it was alleged that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of the sexual misconduct happening within the company “for years,” yet failed to tell executives and the board of directors everything he knew. 

The report detailed a number of incidents that Kotick was supposedly aware of, prior to the recent State of California lawsuit which exposed the company’s “pervasive ‘frat boy’ workplace culture” which is a “breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women.” 

Despite knowledge of the extensive wrongdoings within Activision Blizzard, the report claims that Kotick refused to properly intervene, even protecting Dan Bunting, who was accused of sexually harassing a female employee, after he was recommended to be fired following an internal investigation in 2019. Bunting would only later leave Activision after being approached by the Wall Street Journal for comment. 

Since this damning report emerged, things have been going from bad to worse over at Activision Blizzard. At first, Activision Blizzard’s board of directors issued a statement responding to the report, saying that “the Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick’s leadership,” while also claiming that “Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention.” 

Following this statement, which was upsetting to everyone outside of Activision Blizzard’s upper management, the company’s shareholders spoke out, directly going after Kotick, as well as board members Brian Kelly and Robert Morgado. In a letter, which was shared with the Washington Post, the shareholders publicly called for the resignation of Kotick, Kelly, and Morgado.

It’s currently unclear what will be the ultimate outcome of this damning report, but things certainly aren’t looking good. Pressure is even being put on Activision Blizzard from outside the company, with PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan saying that Activision “has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment.”