Activision Blizzard fires more than 20 employees in wake of harassment lawsuit

By Sean Carey,

Activision Blizzard says over 20 employees have "exited" the company and another 20 have faced "other types of disciplinary action," following investigations into sexual harassment and discrimination claims.

As reported by the Financial Times, a letter from chief compliance officer Frances Townsend was sent to employees detailing how Activision Blizzard plans to create a more "accountable workplace." This has since been published online.

"In recent months, we have received an increase in reports through various reporting channels," Townsend writes. "People are bringing to light concerns, ranging from years ago to the present. We welcome these reports, and our team has been working to investigate them using a combination of internal and external resources. Based on the information received in the initial report, they are assigned into different categories, and resources are allocated to prioritize the most serious reports first.

"In connection with various resolved reports, more than 20 individuals have exited Activision Blizzard, and more than 20 individuals faced other types of disciplinary action."

Speaking with the Financial Times, Townsend says that several game developers and a few supervisors were among the 20 or so employees who had "exited" the company — no board members or anyone from the senior management team were let go.

"We call it as we see it," Townsend said. "It doesn't matter what your rank is, what your job is. If you've committed some sort of misconduct or you're a leader who has tolerated a culture that is not consistent with our values, we're going to take action. The impact on the business is not a consideration."

Some high profile departures from Activision Blizzard include Diablo IV director Luis Barriga, lead designer Jesse McCree, and World of Warcraft senior designer Jonathan LeCraft, as well as Blizzard president J. Allen Brack.

In addition to these disciplinary actions, Townsend writes that the company has expanded its Ethics and Compliance team, which is responsible for investigating complaints, and plans to expand the team further with another 19 full-time roles.

Last month, Blizzard Entertainment's chief legal officer Claire Hart announced her resignation from the company, and both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission confirmed they had opened investigations into Activision Blizzard.

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Written by Sean Carey

A big fan of Xbox achievements, Sean has committed to playing as many of the best RPGs, racing games, and first-person shooters on and off Xbox Game Pass as possible. Before joining TrueAchievements, Sean earned a degree in journalism from Solent University.