Another scandal in AAA video games
Another scndal in AAA video games
By: Ruin Hatter
Many of us in the gaming and streaming community woke up this morning to reports of a
lawsuit against the triple-A game company Activision Blizzard. While seeing large companies
get sued is nothing new. Often these lawsuits are from former employees and the like. Today we
saw something a little different. Something that showed that this wasn’t a simple matter of a
“disgruntled employee” easily swept under the rug. Cause today, as reported by Jason Schreier
of Bloomburg, Activision Blizzard had a lawsuit filed against it by the California Department of
Fair Employment and Housing for claims of discrimination. Included below are screenshots
taken from Schreier’s public Twitter account that detail some of the allegations. The most
egregious of which was a woman driven to suicide by the obsessive sexual harassment present
in the company, the worst of which were pictures of her vagina being passed around the holiday
party.
The shock of the scandal to may was present throughout Twitter today. As many content
creators spoke up about women’s treatment in the video game industry as a whole. Those of us
that have looked over and been involved in the going on behind the scenes this sort of thing is
far too common of a story than most will ever realize. Pundits like Jim Sterling have been
reporting for years of stories coming out from the dark corners of the game industry describing
much of what we saw in today’s complaints.
One such one was these companies having a “frat boy” like environment. We heard
similar allegations about GearBox Games and it’s CEO Randy Pitchford. In one case porn was
found on a flash drive that was left at a medieval-themed restaurant. Not only was the woman
thought to not be of age, later confirmed that she indeed was, but the porn was found on the
same drive along with several confidential documents. Allegations of sexual harassment were
levied against Gearbox calling the environment similar to a “frat house”. With many of the male
coworkers treating their female counterparts with disrespect.
It wasn’t so long ago that Ubisoft also had its own sexual harassment scandal that went
straight to the top. Discovering that even the president of Ubisoft was involved in a cover up.
Now while many will be covering the exact nature of the lawsuit. I’m choosing to look at the
broader picture involved. One that shows that as video games have become more profitable
over time. The more the businessmen became part of the every day in this industry the more
we’ve discovered a dark and sickening reality. It’s not men but businessmen that are ruining our
beloved industry.
Sexual harassment is but one symptom of many that’s been plaguing the games
industry. For years now we’ve learned of decades of abuse. From years-long crunches that have
torn families apart and caused their employees mental health issues. Shoddy, poorly made
products that often fail to live up to even the lowest of expectations. Exploitive loot boxes and
game mechanics means to punish the players and take as much money as possible. EA alone
has made a billion dollars in one fiscal year from microtransactions alone. Sexual harassment
hasn’t been a well-kept secret just those victims names who were never able to get justice
Sexual harassment is but one symptom of many that’s been plaguing the games
industry. For years now we’ve learned of decades of abuse. From years long crunches that have
torn families apart and caused their employees mental health issues. Shoddy, poorly made
products that often fail to live up to even the lowest of expectations. Exploitive loot boxes and
game mechanics means to punish the players and take as much money as possible. EA alone
has made a billion dollars in one fiscal year from microtransactions alone. Sexual harassment
hasn’t been a well kept secret just those victims names who were never able to get justice.
There’s a well known reality in the game industry that one can be blacked listed very
quickly. A lawsuit that failed to find satisfaction in court but is loved by droves in social media
finds that former employees are searching for a new job. While they will be given plenty of
reasons why they won’t be hired but the unspoken bottom line is they talked. In that talk they
brought out the dark reality of working in the games industry, and as such a liability. A liability to
those who would seek to only further their own agenda and bank accounts. The black list is the
main reason those that have had the courage to speak out do so anonymously as to be certain
they can still find employment later on.
This though is different. This isn’t a simple civil lawsuit. This is a lawsuit brought by a
state agency. An agency that was well aware that once this went public it would thrust Activision
Blizzard into the spotlight. An agency that is well aware that should it not be able to present
evidence in court to support its case they could quickly find themselves in a countersuit for
slander. Each accusation has been vetted and investigated. So often in the past we’ve watched
as governmental agencies often stop shy of holding those responsible in corporate culture.
Watched as they feared what they should be up against when facing down billion dollar
companies with the best legal teams money can buy. Anything short of an ironclad case is set
on the shelf never to be looked at again. So to see today and state agency go right after
Activision Blizzard for sexual harassment, something so often hard to prove in court, speaks
volumes about the validity of the accusations
Yet even as horrendous as these allegations are they are again only a symptom. Like
music, movies and so much media before them they are started by visionaries. Ones whose
creative nature is in charge. The kind that tends to be more human than profit driven robots. Who
treats people with respect than looking at them as “human resource capital”. When it became
clear to the business world that video games could make big money they slowly began to move
in. With it drained away was creativity, passion and the creative spirit that made the game
industry as successful as it had become. In its place we got sequels, reboots and spiritual
successors. Long gone has originality been lost and what few sparks of it we see are treasured
by many in the community.
Having spent time in the corporate world myself, stories like these are far too common.
Seeing qualified people passed over for due promotions in favor of those they have “good
relations” with is an everyday occurrence. The saying “it’s not about what you know but who you
know” is a rule of thumb for the corporate world if you wish to get ahead. The fact that women
are treated worse in this regard steps well and good over the line.
As indie games continue to gain popularity and regency in our community it comes from
the reality that like how the industry started so long ago, the creative and passionate minds of
the gaming industry have moved away from the large corporate labels. Clearly the entire
management structure has continued to fail even the most basic of ways. Products continue to
suffer. One only needs to look as far as Activision Blizzard’s Warzone to see that. Plagued with
glitches, bugs and hackers galore. Electronic Arts’s Apex Legends is another game that’s also
had a laundry list of issues that’s yet to be addressed. CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077
release is a buggy broken mess that’s still yet to see substantial improvements.
In all these cases poor management has often played one of the most key factors to a
game’s demise before it even releases. Management also plays a key role in the tempo and
temperance of the office environment. Through them harassers feel either empowered or seek
new employment elsewhere. At the end of the day it’s those who sit atop of the power structure
that should take the lion’s share of the blame. We can no longer just point fingers down the
ladder and single out one or two “bad eggs” and ignore the fact that this pattern of behavior is
prevalent throughout the games industry, and corporate culture in general. We continue to see
how a system that continues to reap reward upon reward, continues to offer the comfort that
shadows provide. Only cement a power to create these horribly inhumane conditions.
I don’t know the answer. I don’t want to regurgitate the tired lines of speaking with our
wallets. That’s been proven time and again to never receive the desired effect. What we need to
do is return sense, creativity and humanity back to the games industry. We need to work to
destroy the black list, and encourage all those hurt by the actions of selfish businessmen. We
need more state agencies willing to take these people and hold them accountable for their
horrid actions. We are beyond what a consumer can do to better this situation. It’s up to the
workers now. They need to unionize, organize and speak out loud when rights and basic
decency are infringed upon. We as a community can be outraged and stand in support of each
voice that speaks out. Though it is all we can do. Now is the time for workers and courts to
make this form of management palatable to investors anymore. Yes we can as consumers can
speak with our pocket books, but also we all have the right to spend our money how we choose
without harassment.
There are many who work at these companies that are good and want better. Buying
their products supports these workers the same as it does the ones we don’t like. They are the
first to go when times start getting tough, and in doing so lose their allies on the inside that could
work for real change. So let’s support each and every voice willing to speak out, and those that
bring facts to light. Someday I hope we can all come together to make a better industry for us
all.
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