Corporate Gossip Activision Blizzard's Final Boss
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CW: Suicide, Sexual Assault
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No game developer would even think to create a dungeon troll as sinister as Bobby Kotick. Bobby's life is a video game where gobbling up cash is the mission and when it comes to retribution there is no side quest too small!
When the WSJ drops a bombshell report about years of sexual harassment and toxic culture at Activsion Blizard, will Bobby Kotick finally run out of lives? Or will he respawn in the form of a trash goblin who gets bonus points for punching down?
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Time Stamps:
00:00 - Background on Activision Blizzard
09:30 - Bobby Kotick meets Daddy Wynnbucks and becomes an adopted nepo baby, starts game publisher Activision and develops expert level skill in suing people less rich than him
29:30 - Blizzard origin story, early reports of sexual harassment
51:00 - Activision Blizzard merger, Bobby Kotick turns the company into the Triangle Shirtwaist factory while board members look the other way
56:00 - Bobby Kotick completes the CEO right of passage - bending over for the CCP!
60:00 - The lights come on and everyone realizes Bobby Kotick is a little dungeon troll
Note:
Activision Blizzard denied any wrongdoing, and the settlement confirms California Civil Rights Department (CRD) could not substantiate those claims. As part of the settlement, the CRD withdrew the claims related to harassment from its complaint.
Links:
'Scorched earth' and big profits: How embattled gaming titan Bobby Kotick outlasts his opponents
At Blizzard, groping, free-flowing booze and fear of retaliation tainted 'magical' workplace
Blizzard Sets Off Backlash for Penalizing Hearthstone Gamer in Hong Kong
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Knew for Years About Sexual-Misconduct Allegations at Videogame Giant
A group of Activision workers say their C.E.O. should step down.
Parents Say Sexual Harassment at Activision Blizzard Led to Their Daughter's Suicide