Former Blizzard President Releases Statement Following Lawsuit

Blizzard Updates: Former Blizzard President and CEO Mike Morhaime released a statement following the lawsuit filed against the company on grounds of sexual harassment.

Mike Morhaime left Blizzard in 2019 and started another studio, Dreamhaven, in 2020. With Activision Blizzard facing a lawsuit at the moment, the former CEO and President sent out a statement.

The state of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing officially filed a lawsuit against game publisher Activision Blizzard on July 20. The grounds for the lawsuit are sexual harassment, unfair pay, and other discriminatory behavior.

The social media pages of the Activision Blizzard games have gone silent so it is hard to decipher what’s happening behind the scenes of the publisher. The accusations go back to the time when Morhaime was the CEO, therefore, he has released a statement as a response to the accusations and as a way to share his views on the whole situation.

What Blizzard President Has to Say about the Statement?

Polygon

Mike Morhaime took to Twitter to post a link to his statement and his thoughts on the matter. He expressed his remorse for the work culture that existed under his leadership. He wrote that he had read the full complaint against Activision Blizzard and the other stories about the workplace ‘frat boy’ culture, and he found it disturbing and difficult to read. He accepted that his statement might look like mere words to the victims but he is willing to hear and share their stories.

While Morhaime might have extended his helping hand, the question still lingers about the former CEO’s role in the work culture of Activision Blizzard. Morhaime was a part of the company for 28 years and the lawsuit states that the toxic work culture existed during his time there.

An official spokesperson said in their statement to Bloomberg that the accusations in the lawsuit do not correctly portray the Blizzard workplace of today. They added that some of the findings of the investigation are distorted and false.

Meanwhile, other developers and gamers are responding to the controversy in their own way. Former Activision partner Bungie took a pledge to make the gaming industry more welcoming, inclusive, and free of toxicity. Gamers are doing an in-game protest against Activision Blizzard and some individuals mentioned in the lawsuit, in World of Warcraft.

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