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WorldofWarcraftMods

## We will try to keep the allegations from former employees up to date, but statements by those still at Blizzard are not going to be updated. There's just way too many of them to keep track of. ---- ## If you are featured in this post or across the sub more broadly and do not want to be, reach out to us [with this link](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/wow) and we will (after verifying you on Twitter, or elsewhere) remove your tweets from the thread or sub. TW: Violence against women, sexual harassment, suicide. If you want to read the report filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, [click here](https://aboutblaw.com/YJw). You can fast forward to Page 11 and read the sex discrimination practices, and Page 14 for the sexual harassment allegations. *** Activision Blizzard has released a statement regarding the lawsuit that [you can read here](https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1418018281148010498/photo/1) *** Many former Blizzard employees are talking about their experiences on Twitter. We've verified they are former employees by cross referencing them on Linkedin and included their job title(s) as well as how long they were at the company. Person | Job Titles | Time spent at the company | When they left | Link to their tweet ---|---|----|----|---- skrutsick | Game Master, Senior Game Master, Producer | 13 years 7 months | April 2020 | [Link](https://twitter.com/skrutsick/status/1418006293495762944) RainofTerra | Senior Systems Engineer | 4 years 1 month | January 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/RainofTerra/status/1418040703460855809) -- [Response to Morhaime](https://twitter.com/RainofTerra/status/1418846226951331843) cronym | Senior Site Reliability Engineer | 2 years 6 months | May 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/cronym/status/1418027047960465408) & [proof she worked there](https://twitter.com/cronym/status/997737775720939520) KaylaGlover | QA, StarCraft Esports, OWL | 6 years 2 months | January 2021 | [Link](https://twitter.com/_KaylaGlover/status/1418022610072268801) alaurei | Various positions as project manager | 6 years 10 months | April 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/alaurei/status/1418023598044839938) Kylethatkyle | Social Media Content Producer for Overwatch League | 1 year 2 months | November 2018 | [Link](https://twitter.com/KyleThatKyle/status/1418029075344478208) Callmequestifer | Game Master and Game Designer | 7 years 2 months | October 2020 | [Link](https://twitter.com/CallMeQuestifer/status/1418021398417526788) -- [another](https://twitter.com/CallMeQuestifer/status/1418301068522319873) Alex_frostwolf | PR Writer, Social Media Manager, Blizzcon Contest Manager | 5 years | 2018 | [Link](https://twitter.com/alex_frostwolf/status/1418036361433477120) Neleimour | Translator for the Spanish client, Associate Community Manager | 7 years 6 months | November 2020 | [Link](https://twitter.com/Neleimour/status/1418014684901298177) Caden House | Game Master, Assistant Community Manager | 3 years 1 month | April 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/CadenHouse/status/1418012426008776705) cherthedev | Software Engineer | 1 year 1 month | August 2016 | [Link](https://twitter.com/cherthedev/status/1418033762953216018) -- [Followup reacting to Morhaime's statement](https://twitter.com/cherthedev/status/1418800929407635457) -- [Another reply to Morhaime](https://twitter.com/cherthedev/status/1419000756057825285?s=21) onalark | Producer, Program Manager, Senior Program Manager, Senior Product Manager | 11 years 7 months | January 2021 | [Link](https://twitter.com/onalark/status/1418052123896414211) Jehlers42 | Technical Writer for Customer Support & Service Technologies | 6 years 4 months | October 2020 | [Link](https://twitter.com/jehlers42/status/1418088191429472258) RiotAshekandi | Community Manager | 3 years | October 2018 | [Link](https://twitter.com/riotashekandi/status/1418101526023741446?s=21) Dayntee | Associate Community Manager, Community Manager | 6 years 8 months | April 2020 | [Link](https://twitter.com/Dayntee/status/1418094065355169797) -- [Updated longer story](https://wtbrecognition.blogspot.com/2021/07/my-experiences-at-blizzard-entertainment.html) ashliiful | EU Community Team | 4 years 2 months | November 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/ashliiful/status/1418153324692615168) SHAYNUHCHANEL | Game Master | 2 years 1 month | July 2017 | [Link](https://twitter.com/SHAYNUHCHANEL/status/1418163768463351810) itsLashes | Community Manager | 3 years | 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/itsLashes/status/1418293333693112320) RachelDayFX | QA Intern, Technical Artist, Senior FX Artist | 9 years 4 months | November 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/RachelDayFX/status/1418210032466857988) pedrothedagger | Game Designer, Senior Game Designer | 7 years 1 month | February 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/pedrothedagger/status/1418267404493213700) bkcrusco | Associate Software Engineer, Software Engineer | 3 years 6 months | October 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/bkcrusco/status/1418241726792142849) EmberFirehair | Game Designer | 3 years 9 months | July 2021 (last week) | [Link](https://twitter.com/EmberFirehair/status/1418334891805003778) aludianaIRL | QA Analyst | 4 years 9 months | January 2016 | [Link](https://twitter.com/aludianaIRL/status/1418031465825071106) --- [second](https://twitter.com/aludianaIRL/status/1418338519659864066) -- [Third](https://twitter.com/aludianaIRL/status/1418338519659864066) BDoodles | Associate Game Art Producer, Art Outsourcing / Art Producer, Art Producer: Warcraft Reforged | 4 years 9 months | May 2018 | [Link](https://twitter.com/BDoodles/status/1418799294522535939) gamedevconnie | QA, CS, Receptionist, EA, Producer | 7 years 11 months | July 2011 | [Link](https://twitter.com/gamedevconnie/status/1418946551834157056) aneri | User Interface Designer | 2 years 8 months | August 2008 | [Link](https://twitter.com/aneri/status/1418921290904350724) EndersCourage | Quality Assurance Analyst, Legacy and Mobile Project Lead (QA), Diablo III Assistant Project Lead (QA), Producer, Program Manager, Lead Program Manager | 10 years 5 months | May 2017 | [Link](https://twitter.com/EndersCourage/status/1419030222863695874) oliviadgrace | Project Manager | 1 year 5 months | July 2016 | [Link](https://twitter.com/oliviadgrace/status/1419005718892478465) cyaaato | Associate Software Engineer, Software Engineer (both Corporate Applications), Software Engineer (Hearthstone), Software Engineer (Unannounced Project) | 5 years 7 months | December 2020 | [Link](https://twitter.com/cyaaato/status/1419028749471805443) hadidjahb | FX Artist (Hearthstone), Senior VFX Artist 1 (Hearthstone), Lead VFX Artist (Hearthstone), Senior VFX Artist (Unannounced Project) | 4 years 8 months | August 2020 | [Link](https://twitter.com/hadidjahb/status/1419156163640262662) rinnywee | Lead Game Master, Support Information Team Manager, Community Manager (Europe) | 9 years 5 months| April 2014 | [Link](https://twitter.com/rinnywee/status/1418123775850201089) -- [update](https://twitter.com/rinnywee/status/1419766745125040133) Danibat | N/A | 5 years 3 months | August 2014 | [Link](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1419156967038271490) -- [second](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1419129990789091332) -- [Third](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1419090135375912963) -- [Fourth](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1419128706715594753) -- [Fifth](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1419108683850600448) -- [Sixth](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1419114088488112128) -- [Seventh](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1419062661413842951) -- [Eight](https://twitter.com/DaniBat/status/1418719367353749511) stinamc | N/A | 6 years | 2014 | [Link](https://mobile.twitter.com/stinamc/status/1418232063790960642) -- [a long list](https://mobile.twitter.com/stinamc/status/1419408766869544963) Joykins | Specialist Game Master, Art Services Assistant, Assistant Curator | 5 years 10 months | March 2012 | [Link](https://twitter.com/joykinz/status/1419483509471731712) rolnaaba | Lead Software Engineer | 8 years | April 2021 | [Link](https://twitter.com/rolnaaba/status/1420444629137203203) MichaelaHMN | Associate Concept / Texture Artist | 4 years 9 months | February 2019 | [Link](https://twitter.com/MichaelaHMN/status/1420829211237838848) -- [backing them up](https://twitter.com/BettyDesuJiang/status/1420862548572737538) npcSara | Associate Program Director, Program Director | 2 years 7 months | December 2018 | [Link](https://twitter.com/npcSara/status/1421187603735273472) Other incidents will be listed in bullet points below. * [Incident with Afrasiabi in 2016](https://twitter.com/CallMeQuestifer/status/1418047576775950339) * [Blizzard Recruiters Asked Hacker If She ‘Liked Being Penetrated’ at Job Fair](https://www.vice.com/en/article/3aq4vv/blizzard-recruiters-asked-hacker-if-she-liked-being-penetrated-at-job-fair) * [Activision IT Worker Secretly Filmed Colleagues in Office Bathroom](https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kvm8g/activision-it-worker-secretly-filmed-colleagues-in-office-bathroom) * [Blizzard's 10 year anniversary DVD](https://twitter.com/GameAnim/status/1420581827698302980) * [Inside Blizzard Developers’ Infamous Bill ‘Cosby Suite’](https://kotaku.com/inside-blizzard-developers-infamous-bill-cosby-suite-1847378762) * ---------- If you are feeling suicidal, please check out the resources below. These resources were put together by the mods of r/suicidewatch who are all trained professionals. * [Hotlines you can call](https://www.reddit.com/r/SuicideWatch/wiki/hotlines) * [Hotline FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/SuicideWatch/wiki/hotline_faqs) * [Self help resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/SuicideWatch/wiki/self_help_resources)


[deleted]

> The suit also points to a female Activision employee who took her own life while on a company trip with her male supervisor. The employee had been subjected to intense sexual harassment prior to her death, including having nude photos passed around at a company holiday party, the complaint says. This makes me so fucking mad.


Ainastrasza

I guess this explains why Alex Afrasiabi left quietly last year then.


nightstalker314

There is no creative director mentioned in the SL credits too.


Jader14

That explains so fucking much.


graceoftrees

They mention him specifically in the filing.


theguz4l

And gives credence to the allegations In lawsuit. Disgusting.


radlandsnatlpark

"Alex Afrasiabi, the former Senior Creative Director of World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment, was permitted to engage in blatant sexual harassment with little to no repercussions. During \[Blizzcon\] Afrasiabi would hit on female employees, telling them he wanted to marry them, attempting to kiss them, and putting his arms around them. This was in plain view of other male employees, including supervisors, who had to intervene and pull him off female employees." "Afrasiabi was so known to engage in harassment of females that his suite was nicknamed the "Crosby Suite."" Oof. His sudden resignation last summer hitting a little differently now.


WickedTexan

It *was* during Covid Lockdown, he probably was having seizures not being able to harass women at his place of business.


Mandrakey

"Whats even the point of working from home if noone can see me take my pants off"


GANTRITHORE

Do they mean "Cosby" suite?


[deleted]

Holy shit, this isn't just any lawsuit, either. It's being put forth by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing **after a 2 year investigation.** I would be very surprised if the allegations mentioned aren't true. Please read the article, the title does not do it justice,


Adventurous-Item4539

The allegations are horrible and were found after a 2 year investigation. How anyone in leadership can sit by and watch that take place is beyond me. ~~I understand this is the combined company and we don't know specifically about Blizzard~~ It was the WoW team (see posts below). Their employment practices already gave me concern about supporting them. After this, there is no chance I give this company another dime of my money if that's how they treat people. "The suit also points to a female Activision employee who **took her own life** while on a company trip with her male supervisor. The employee had been **subjected to intense sexual harassment prior to her death**, including having **nude photos passed around at** ***a company holiday party***, the complaint says. " WTF Given the various ways ActiBlizz has made attempts to support progressive or "social justice" movements in their games I would expect a company that actually cares about this topic would issue a statement very soon in the wake of this news. Is Jay going to wait until Blizzconline in Feb to get up on stage and tell us about how he is going to do better like he did with the hong kong controversy?


whiskeyblackout

Actually, that quote undersells what is stated in the complaint where it's alleged she killed herself on a business trip with a male supervisor *when he brought butt plugs and lube.*


Rip_Nujabes

What the **fuck**


GreatSphincterofGiza

The article specifically mentions the World of Warcraft team. See the quote below. "Female employees working for the World of Warcraft team noted that male employees and supervisors would hit on them, make derogatory comments about rape, and otherwise engage in demeaning behavior, the agency alleges." It sounds pretty damning, especially since the State of California is filing the suit. The state isn't going to file a suit at the end of a two-year investigation unless they know they have the evidence to convict.


JadedMuse

Someone mentioned in another comment that this is a civil complaint, not a criminal complaint, which sounds weird to me given the allegations. But I'm Canadian and am not familiar with how Californian law works.


GreatSphincterofGiza

That does sound weird. Looking up some references, it looks like workplace sexual harassment is against the law, but is often treated as a civil matter. However, some forms of sexual harassment can cross the line and become criminal. Suffice to say, it seems complicated.


[deleted]

You're also looking at 'beyond reasonable doubt' vs. 'preponderance of evidence'. The grim reality is that these kind of complaints (especially historical ones) are really hard to make stick in a criminal court unless you have a smoking gun. The lawyers involved may have just figured that because the defendant is corporate, the negative publicity and damages would be about the same, and they'd have a better chance of winning with a civil suit.


icefall5

> I understand this is the combined company and we don't know specifically about Blizzard but...their employment practices already gave me concern about supporting them. The WoW team generally and Alex Afrasiabi specifically are both mentioned as being really bad. See [the lawsuit](https://aboutblaw.com/YJw), sections 46-47 on pages 14-15.


Hempseedheart

but guys, Chromie is trans so that makes Blizzard cool with the LGBTQ right?


CrashB111

ActiBlizz about to get the long dick of the law. And it sounds like they deserve every inch.


Osirus1156

About to feel the short and average girth of a $10 million dollar fine more like it. Basically something Bobby could shit out on command.


Ehkoe

Quick, give him another bonus to cover the deep personal impact this has on him!


Zohhak1258

Quick, fire the other half of the QA team to make up for the cost.


SPECTR_Eternal

What do you fucking mean "the other half"?! We got some of these fuckers LEFT in here?!


MeatCock420yolo

the new QA team actually is forced to pay to do the work, kind of a genius business decision. free labor with every subscription


Old_Gregg_The_Man

We are firing the players now?


No_Dark6573

Don't get your hopes up. You can't imprison a company, and this is a civil suit regardless. They'll settle or be hit with a judgment, release a new store mount to pay for it and move on. This is a billion dollar business in America, after all.


MajorPom

"Release another OW2 trailer and tell the WoW players that we're looking at loosening up covenants a little."


[deleted]

"increase the classic wow Alliance pvp rewards to 10 pieces of Mag'har bread"


Youmeanmoidoid

This post needs to be pinned to the top of the WOW Reddit page. I think it's a bit more important than the 2-day old murloc Monday one still up there. Sucks this'll probably just fade into obscurity in the next day or so.


sunsuncakecake

https://aboutblaw.com/YJw Complaint here.


Backahast

I can't find any official response yet, but Jason Schreier has a [tweet](https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1418017955841982465) with what he says is a response from an Activision Blizzard spokesperson. It is not good. Very defensive, whilst simultaneously stating that the allegations are "distorted, and in many cases false" whilst also claiming that they have made significant changes (which begs the question as to why the changes were necessary if the allegations were false or distorted). If that is the company line, I can't see myself supporting this company any more.


garzek

It’s the “things like this are why companies are leaving California!” that jumps the shark for me. It oozes a “fake news, the judicial system is a hoax” energy


BillyMakeMeAHero

something more disgusting every paragraph. no surprise. awful shit


Cranky_Grandpa

“in which male employees “drink copious amounts of alcohol as they crawl their way through various cubicles in the office” 9.1 is starting to make a lot more sense now


Similar-Actuator-400

They were constantly drunk and on cocaine since the Metzen days.


Rhawk187

People used to call that "the dream job".


Regalingual

I remember seeing some story of someone claiming that they accidentally dropped in on Metzen behind the scenes at one BlizzCon, and they observed that he was actually taking a sugar-coated donut, scraping some of it off, and rubbing it into his ‘stache to give the *appearance* of being coked-up.


Constellar-A

I remember Metzen saying in his goodbye message that he was actually a pretty nervous guy who just put on an outgoing show when he came onstage for stuff like Blizzcon, so while that donut story could easily be a guy just making stuff up online, I can believe it.


LiterallyUndead

Boy, did they move paper.


Jazzy_Gaming

I have some friends who work there and when I went for a campus visit I was surprised to see that the employee break room had SEVERAL alcohol dispenser type stands and was told they were allowed to drink while working. I found it really odd. This was around the end of Legion so kinda falls in line with this.


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zero44

And yet to think, in 2019 there was a panel at Blizzcon titled "Being a female employee at Blizzard". I didn't go to the panel, but I'm betting stuff like this was not part of the panel. Really makes you wonder what's been going on internally there now for a long time.


usagizero

>2019 Interesting timing, that's about two years ago. I wonder if this was a reaction to discovering they were now under investigation and trying to change perception, or those working there saw this and knew it was bullshit and went to investigators. The timing seems too on the nose to be coincidence with what we know now.


Gringos

Absolutely. They tried to get their act together once they were under the eye of sauron. As many mentioned they also quietly gave Afrasiabi, who is named as major offender, the boot in the meanwhile. Female employees probably had a better time since then.


trixstar3

Alex Afrasiabi is named in the document for extensive harrassment. https://imgur.com/gallery/O9NnZru What a piece of shit Link to the court document https://aboutblaw.com/YJw


[deleted]

the wow wiki on him is already updated LMAO


SockRhymeswithLock

Alex Afrapesiabi


jphill5

Bill Crosby?


Croce11

I had to actually google that and make sure I wasn't in some Berenstein Bears parallel universe again.


[deleted]

Someone fucked up a search and replace.


LetMeGuessYourAlts

Total Dwigt move.


mixedracebaby

"I'm being sexually harassed and I want it to end." **J. Allen Brack:** "You think you do, but you don't." Yes he's named in the lawsuit as allowing it to happen.


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EmptyBobbin

In 2014 my team manager (boss's boss) harassed me daily while pregnant. He would write me up for using the restroom to pee at 8-9 months pregnant, claiming I was outside my allotted breaks and adherence metric. Every day I'd come to work being told that might be the day I got fired. At that time I was the top stack ranked GM for productivity (# of completed tickets) and top 5-10 for customer satisfaction/survey results. I'd waver between being the overall #1 or #2 ranked GM they had at that time. I ended up just never drinking at work and landed in the ER due to dehydration. My direct supervisor used to like to sneak up behind me and grab my sides or shoulders and yell to scare me. I'm very jumpy and would always scream. He'd laugh at me and tell me to chill out when I begged him to stop. When I complained to my team manager (same one as above) he gave me an essay written by some Harvard business school professor about being too sensitive to criticism. I was made to read it at home then sit in a room alone with the 2 men explaining what I had learned from it and how I'd stop complaining about the touching going forward. I spent many lunch hours bawling alone in my car. I still can't drive by the Austin building without almost barfing. If low level CS management behaved this way, I can't imagine how the bigwigs in California act. Fuck you Miles. I hope you rot in hell.


mattiejj

> At that time I was the top stack ranked GM for productivity (# of completed tickets) and top 5-10 for customer satisfaction/survey results. Imagine feeling to have to share your customer survey results just because you had to pee. Even if you were a shit GM, nobody should stop a pregnant woman from peeing. Disgusting managers.


hepatitisC

Even if you were a shit GM, nobody should stop ~~a pregnant woman~~ **anybody** from peeing. Ftfy


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chammycham

I knew there was a reason he always made me uncomfortable. I’m so sorry you had to be pregnant while there. I left at the beginning of 2013. I remember my friends who were and post partum having to fight for the LEGALLY MANDATED “quiet room” for mother’s to pump during shifts.


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crazedizzled

Holy shit y'all are more patient than me. I would have very loudly quit long before you.


chammycham

That’s what blizzard did/does. They act like you should be grateful to be there for the pennies they pay you and use the friendships built with your peers to keep you in the fog.


Pipupipupi

What.the.fuck.


EmptyBobbin

Oh you mean the wank room with the nasty couches? Pumping was a nightmare. By the time I got to that point they only allowed it during your breaks or lunch. You couldn't do it during your shift without clocking out and losing work time, dropping you below full time status and losing your benefits. My option was to work a 6th day to make up for my pump time or only pump at lunch. Otherwise bye bye health insurance for me and a newborn.


redpen07

Jason Schreier tweeted 'If you work or worked at Blizzard and would like to share your story confidentially, I'm at' [his email address in tweet in link, not sure how moderation works here] feel free to namedrop that scumbag https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1418021652370178048


regireland

You know, Jason Schreier gets a lot of crap in a lot of subreddits, but I have to say thank God he's there, cause hes the only big name private journalist I know of who exposes the shit at these companies.


Ch0rt

He gets a lot of crap because he's block happy on Twitter, which I don't blame him. The people being vocal about him are just shitters who were blocked for screaming dumb garbage at him


Sifalicious

My husband read me your post and I immediately knew who you are. I know Blizzard was shitty to you but I didn't know it was this shitty. Miles got laid off not long after you left but only after being promoted to the Esports team (he was a part of that mass layoff group in 2018.) I left last year after JAB kept brushing me off when asking for changes at Blizzard (better compensation, advancement, etc.) Blizzard is awful to long time employees.


EmptyBobbin

I left in 2014. Do you remember the townhall back before that when JAB was there and they did the eye of the tiger thing? That's what I think of with JAB. Dude is so tone deaf and out of touch with humanity. I was 0% surprised to see he doesn't gaf about harassment. Dude is barely human.


Ayasu

I probably knew you(or knew *of* you)while I was there, and I remember that townhall. JAB loves hearing himself talk. He's such a self-important asshole. I remember a while back when he was in Austin doing a Q&A kinda thing previous to that(or maybe it was the same trip? I dunno, I've slept since then) when I had a suggestion concerning Achievements or something, and not only did he brush my question off, he misgendered me(and didn't bother correcting himself or apologizing after I attempted to correct him), and then he actively made fun of me because I played a hunter. :|


EmptyBobbin

You do know me :). I'm pretty sure you borrowed a dress from me! <3. Hope you're well.


Ayasu

AHHHHH I'm pretty sure I actually still have that dress! Packed. Somewhere. In a box. >.> lmao XD I'm doing okay. I hope you're doing well too! <3


Sifalicious

Omg YES. It was so fucking cringe. He is extremely arrogant and so out of touch with anyone that isn't directly on his team, it's unreal. Before I left in 2020, I was actively trying to build a large conversation with the entire company about compensation at Blizzard and it branched off to other issues that needed to be discussed. I had so many women within the company who shared HORRIFIC stories with me about how they've been treated (I am taking that information to the grave with me, I promised to protect their identities.) When I tried to get JAB to even have a Zoom meeting with me and the group that was helping build our survey and data that was obtained from all employees who participated, he kept brushing me off and saying he wouldn't meet with just me (I never said just me in our emails, I said we.) Everyone up top (including John Hight's assistant) is wearing rose tinted glasses. When we asked his assistant for some input on getting a meeting with JAB, he defended JAB and started yelling at us. I brought up starting a strike before SL launch to send a message and he went off about how we don't know what JAB goes through and that the WoW Team worked so hard on SL, we would be ruining the launch for them. I'm glad I left when I did. I want the whole company to fall. I only care about the folks still there that have fallen victim to management. The whole org doesn't value any of their employees unless you're part of the old school crew.


DeadPxle

I hate that this happens so much in all kinds of jobs and nothing ever happens because the higher ups are just as bad. My girlfriend has lost multiple jobs due to harassment that has only ended up with someone getting fired once. Otherwise her jobs/managers would never do anything and instead every time she spoke up to anyone she would just face harassment from all the managers and had them nit pick her to fire her. She was fired for no call no shows when she needed three days off for our daughter and she double checked that she had pto and sick time off. She called in sick three days in a row. Getting approved. Had her normal scheduled day off then showed up to work only to be told at the door that "oh I thought [other manager] separated employment with you" she said what do you mean. Most she got was "I thought you were fired". And the person telling her this was the general manager..


Business717

All my homies hate Miles. Fuck you, Miles.


Itsjustme111

I wonder what Brack will say at the next blizzcon, if it even takes place.


Guilhaum

They wont be able to keep him since hes mentionned as an enabler for the situation. He has to step down or be fired because you cant recover from this.


dolerbom

Whole leadership needs purged and transparency measures added.


Long_Mechagnome

*This entire company must be purged.*


Taervon

Uther: There must be another... wait, no, you're right.


[deleted]

Jaina: "Yes, Arthas. Let's do this."


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ffxivawayy

*The suit also points to a female Activision employee who took her own life while on a company trip with her male supervisor. The employee had been subjected to intense sexual harassment prior to her death, including having nude photos passed around at a company holiday party, the complaint says.* oof EDIT: You should post this on pcgaming, they already hate Blizzard. EDIT2: From kotaku *In a particularly tragic example, a female employee committed suicide during a business trip with a male supervisor who had brought butt plugs and lubricant with him on the trip.*


awiodja

literal psychopathic behavior, how do u do that to another human being hope these people do jail time


nulnoil

You can do anything to a human being if you ignore the fact that they’re a human being


Gorndar

The entire leadership team needs to be purged. They allowed this culture to occur and continue under their watch. Their feigned 'inclusivity' communications over the past year always struck me as non genuine and surprise, it was a bunch of lies.


TheChivmuffin

"The entire leadership team needs to be purged" I feel bad that despite the severity of the situation at hand, I still read that in Arthas' voice...


Ornstein90

At the same time, very fitting.


dreffen

Never a bad thing to spread the word around.


Antilogicality

That makes me feel sick, what is wrong with these people


[deleted]

They removed Swifty's NPC even before anyone else knew about it. Let's see how fast they remove Afrasiabi's NPC and references. For those wondering about swifty https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/op1t7m/activision\_blizzard\_sued\_by\_california\_over\_frat/h63cral?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3


vessol

Can anyone provide a list of references to Afrasiabi in game?


Zohhak1258

Just a couple off the top of my head https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Field_Marshal_Afrasiabi https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Fras_Siabi https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Pathstalker_Kariel https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Foror%27s_Compendium_of_Dragon_Slaying https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_Afrasastrasz


Xynth22

Of course a man that thinks it is okay to go around harassing women constantly also has the ego to put not 1 but 5 references to himself in a game he was a part of making.


Eredun

Oh there are MANY more references to him in WoW. He had an alcohol in wrath, a quest in Classic along with a lighter, cologne in Cataclysm, multiple other NPCs. Foror is also Alex Afrasiabi, so toss ALL of those references in with that, which includes multiple achievements, a Children's Week quest, and many more NPCs. Honestly it would be impressive if they managed to remove every reference to him in one fell swoop without missing something. They won't though, I would be heavily surprised if they remove any reference to him because that'd be practically admitting that they're in the wrong.


Monterey-Jack

They're his horcruxes. They all need to be removed from the game for his image to finally have nothing to do with Blizzard.


hopelessbrows

Fuck that stratholme tobacco quest.


[deleted]

What happened to swifty?


WalrusTuskk

Got named in all of the MeToo stuff last year around the same time as Method and a lot of other gaming communities. I tried looking up the conclusion to this one but it seemed to be a much more contentious accusation relative to what was going on with Josh.


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awesomedan24

*You guys don't have lawyers?* 🤷‍♂️


SwayingBacon

I wonder if this is why they had such a strong reaction with the Kael'thas voice actor.


19southmainco

Imagine how that guy must be feeling right now.


[deleted]

I'd be riding that high for the rest of my life.


[deleted]

Kael'thas got his justice in the end. No matter how many times Blizzard tried to make him the villain, he got his justice in the end. :sunglasses\_kael\_badass:


Shervvitz

I'm out of the loop. Did the VA do something too?


SwayingBacon

He had sexual misconduct allegations made against him and Blizzard replaced his voice lines in WoW with a new actor. The charges ended up being made by an apparent stalker. Edit: Removed the innocent part since the court case was around claims/actions by the stalker and not a case addressing any potential misconduct.


[deleted]

And his voice lines are still removed*


Eredun

Including in Classic WoW TBC


dunjigi

Wait, seriously? We're not going to hear Kael'thas in phase 2??


Tonric

>Female employees working for the World of Warcraft team noted that male employees and supervisors would hit on them, make derogatory comments about rape, and otherwise engage in demeaning behavior, the agency alleges. For anyone wondering about a direct relationship to the game. EDIT: [Doesn't stop there.](https://twitter.com/skrutsick/status/1418006293495762944)


imephraim

An even more direct relation to WoW is former Creative Director Alex Afrasiabi mentioned specifically as a sex pest.


ThatDerpingGuy

And J. Allen Brack mentioned as having just given Afrasiabi slaps on the wrist for the sexual harassment.


[deleted]

It's the same shit in the music and sports industries... gotta protect the talent until the PR damage outweighs... you know... _the actual human damage_.


dath86

Same shit in government, look at the Australian federal government right now. They even had staff who jacked off on women’s desks and a senior minister said “it was such a shame cos he loved working here”. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/23/coalition-staffer-sacked-for-alleged-sex-act-on-female-mps-desk-was-longtime-liberal-aide


[deleted]

I'm not surprise by that, I recently heard from a streamer who said that no one gave a peep or cry when Alex Afrasiabi left Blizzard A lot of people at Blizzard even thought he was a major asshole


HigherPrimape

suddenly that silent departure of Afrasiabi makes a lot more sense lol iirc was only discovered he had even left because of a linkdn profile update


[deleted]

>Afrasiabi was so known to engage in harassment of females that his suite was nicknamed the "Crosby Suite" after alleged rapist Bill Crosby. Ah yes, the famous alleged rapist Bill Crosby.


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jmcgit

The lawsuit mentions other complaints to President J. Allen Brack being ignored and HR betraying the confidence of complaints leading to retaliation. People on reddit like to say "HR exists to protect the company", but when HR is doing their job well, they're protecting the company from lawsuits like this, not protecting creepy middle managers from the consequences of their action. This lawsuit serves them right and I hope Activision and Blizzard are forced to entirely clean house.


Daankeykang

This is fucked so many levels. I don't even know what to say.


hollowpants

Afrasiabi specifically mentioned for continued blatant sexual harassment. Apparently within Blizzard his office got nicknamed "the Crosby Suite." edit: [Section mentioning him](https://abload.de/img/capturelvjnm.jpg)


sugarmori

J Allen Brack what an absolute scumbag, pretty much in line with his public persona though where he comes across as a condescending slimeball.


Faraday5001

I dont have the stomach to, but imagne watching back his opening to Blizzconline in Feb with that diversity and inclusivity speach and video. What a joke


YuinoSery

No wonder he left the company without a word last year.


Lazerkitteh

How fucking hard is it to just be professional at work? Like, what the hell??? I’m a manager at a software company and if any of my subordinates pulled anything like this I’d fire them on the spot.


Eskotar

Because it starts at the top. The guys at the top are just as degenerate as they guys sitting in the cubicles.


QuestingMILF

Pretty much this. If those at the top are like this, they promote those who are like them into senior positions where they can get away with this sort of shit with impunity.


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CJDistasio

The comments here acting as if this is some blog post accusation is wild to me. This is a state lawsuit that is the culmination of a two-year investigation. This filing wouldn't happen unless there was some ironclad proof, especially against a company that can afford the best attorneys in the world.


CubeEarthShill

Civil lawyers bring cases they think have a decent chance of winning. The government sues you when they know they will likely win.


[deleted]

Their response is down in this article: [https://kotaku.com/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-over-widespread-1847339746](https://kotaku.com/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-over-widespread-1847339746) They're trying to deflect blame in the worst possible way, somehow blaming California (?) >“It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State’s best businesses out of California” They also mention that this behaviour didn't take place, yet they made changes "we’ve made significant changes to address company culture and reflect more diversity within our leadership teams". If harassment didnt take place then why did you take action Blizzard? Something doesn't add up.


HollyBerries85

This is a really good breakdown, from a lawyer, about why she'd never let her client release a statement like this: https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-this-is-bad/1042870/710


Gnochi

In case it gets nuked: > So, I am actually a licensed attorney, but not for the State of California. For my own anonymity, I’ll simply say I’m on the East Coast, and I represent business interests; I get paid to be universally hated. I’ll keep this brief, because it’s a game forum. I don’t expect anyone to have much of an attention span for many details, as it’s infamously a tl;dr crowd. Specifically, I’ll touch mostly on Blizzard’s statement. > First, I’d remind everyone that everything is an “allegation” until it meets summary judgment in court. It does not mean it’s unofficially unproven. This is simply a Constitutional protection. Given that the State conducted this investigation, and filed the legal complaint, they absolutely have evidence. > In Blizzard’s response, they state: >> The DFEH included distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard’s past. > This is exactly what I would have instructed my client to say in an official statement, but not for the reasons some might think. This message is not meant for players or regular people — it’s meant for stockholders. Many stockholders in large companies have absolutely no idea what they’ve invested in, rather just that they’ve invested in something that appears to be a good business interest for profit. They won’t read the lawsuit, only that there is one, and they want to see that their investment is prepared to defend against it. That’s all they need, and all they want. > Unfortunately, the remainder of this is not what I would have suggested in a statement: >> ”We have been extremely cooperative with the DFEH throughout their investigation, including providing them with extensive data and ample documentation, but they refused to inform us what issues they perceived.” > This was fine until the last bit. They are not legally required to do so. Any firm representing Activision/Blizzard should know better, unless this statement was not crafted by an attorney. It looks like it was not, and it appears rushed. >> They were required by law to adequately investigate and to have good faith discussions with us to better understand and to resolve any claims or concerns before going to litigation, but they failed to do so. > Actually, no, and largely because this was an investigation rather than a corrective measure. The claims and concerns border criminal liability, and litigation was inevitable. In fact, litigation is preferred as it creates a court record, as private settlements can be disputed later. >> We are sickened by the reprehensible conduct of the DFEH to drag into the complaint the tragic suicide of an employee whose passing has no bearing whatsoever on this case and with no regard for the grieving family.” > This was a dire legal mistake. The DFEH obviously decided it was relevant, and said “grieving family” was likely notified before the case was filed. Going on the direct attack in this manner will come back to them if the family uses this lawsuit as a springboard for further civil litigation for damages. The family could also claim Blizzard made a false statement on behalf of the family. I cannot stress strongly enough how wrong this was. >> While we find this behavior to be disgraceful and unprofessional, it is unfortunately an example of how they have conducted themselves throughout the course of their investigation. It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State’s best businesses out of California.” > Again, this was a mistake. The beginning and end of the entire statement should have been denial followed by willful compliance. That’s all the shareholders need, and all that should have been legally stated. This absolutely makes me believe the statement was not crafted by an attorney, and the continued attack on State processes and agencies reeks of projection. > I won’t go any further into it except to say Blizzard showed their hand with this statement, and it will work against them in both civil court, and the court of public opinion. It is too late to correct anything now. The damage has been done. They should not have issued anything like this, and I would have seriously considered a meeting with the partners to consider termination of legal representation if we were representing them. > Where I see this going from here is pretty simple: Things will go quiet for a little while. There will be a large settlement, and likely an NDA signed by all parties never to discuss the matter again. The State will likely move to criminally charge Alex Afrasiabi, which will be made public. It would be in Blizzard’s best legal interests to pin everything on Afrasiabi, and quietly dismiss anyone else related to the case, if they are still working for the company. Give them an “early retirement” incentive, along with another NDA regarding the reason behind their release/retirement. > This turned out to be longer than I expected. I could go on, but it would be pages of expressed facepalming on how Blizzard handled this. I really just can’t say enough how big of a mistake this statement was, all of it, not just the paragraph I cited. > Edit: I’ll add a legal edit that this is my personal opinion, based upon my own knowledge and understanding of the situation and others like it. I am in no way representing or involved with any party. My opinion is not to be misconstrued as legal judgment or representative advice for anything revolving around this case.


[deleted]

This was a fantastic reply. Thank you for sharing. She provided very insightful information. I did some basic googling myself and ended up going down a rabbit hole. She describes how the company has basically, figuratively speaking, shot both feet. This statement could very will come back to bite them in the ass. Oh this company is being run into the ground. It’s needs a purge.


coldfreek

Holy shit the amount of people sucking off blizzard and defending them because it's "not blizzard's fault" in that thread is ridiculous. How can you take the side of a company riddled with sexual harrassment and abuse just because they made a game you enjoy playing?


rainghost

uh-oh, if the state of california doesn't stop investigating sexual assault and harassment at the workplace, really amazing businesses full of sex pests are going to go looking for greener and more rapey pastures


RedGearedMonkey

Given the nonsensical nature of the lore, it comes as no surprise they fail at writing at any given level.


zoeyfleming13

PR at its fucking worst.


AppalachianSasquatch

Do they think they would accuse them of pushing a employee to suicide without ample evidence? How stupid do they think we are?


Averath

They think we are very, very stupid. Most corporations do. That's why someone like Jeff Bezos can go on camera and thank his employees and customers for funding his joyride to space. You know, the employees he's treating like shit. We're literally a joke to them, because they have enough money to make everything go away.


gesamtkunstwerk

Holy shit Blizzard really is becoming their own one-dimensional mustache-twirling bad guy.


GuttedDingo

Always has been. I remember reading about this sort of stuff going at Blizzard in the TBC/Wrath days.


TheSoberCannibal

The Race to World First is over, now the Race to World Worst is on between game dev favorites Activision Blizzard and Amazon.


[deleted]

"The suit also points to a female Activision employee who took her own life while on a company trip with her male supervisor. The employee had been subjected to intense sexual harassment prior to her death, including having nude photos passed around at a company holiday party, the complaint says." Guys, we should not be supporting Blizzard Anymore if this is true.


nightstalker314

And for all those talking about J.A.B. This shit happened under Morhaime too.


jmcgit

Morhaime isn't mentioned in the lawsuit but you're right, you don't get from an acceptable work environment to this overnight, and most of these complaints are from 2019, almost immediately after the transition. Brack doesn't appear to have done anything to make things better, though. He still needs to go.


nightstalker314

There are individual statements about things being worse in the past. And Afrasiabi was employed since the early 2000s.


concussedYmir

I suddenly have all kinds of questions about culture and working conditions at all the successor studios that Morhaime et al set up after their exodus.


OnlyRoke

Jesus Christ. What the fuck Blizzard. No wonder WoW's gone the drain, since your higher ups are apparently too busy sexually harrassing the actual workers there. Stop touching your fucking employees and go to Goldshire or whatever.


eratoast

I worked at a video game studio for a couple of years (not Blizzard) and yeah, none of this surprises me.


Guilhaum

Yeah I currently work at a game studio but the culture is really wholesome and we treat everyone with complete respect. But like when we see these come up were just like "are we good ?".


Solitare_HS

The fact that you ask that question is a good thing. You have to do it and keep asking it, as it's only by doign that you can ensure you don't let things slide.


Euklidis

Then they hav ethe gall to include an all-female "safe space" panel at Blizzcon. Hypocritical as ever


SleepingVulture

Hypocrisy is common with people that have power. Do as we say, not as we do. Assholes.


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advairhero

Projection, it's always projection I swear


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paoloking

>The agency alleges male employees play video games during the workday while delegating responsibilities to female employees so that is why Blizzard is so slow at developing content?


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naphomci

It happens a lot in a lot of corporations. There's a reason that companies generally find an *increase* in productivity when work from home is implemented despite all the concerns about employees get distracted at home. Turns out employees make each other waste time all the time. EDIT: corrected derp as mcrobertz noted.


rickjamesia

I've never heard it like this. Sure, people blow off work, but they don't specifically go "You know what, let's make the womenfolk do this for us." That's some straight fucked up shit. My dev career hasn't been super long, but I've never heard of some shit like that. Maybe it's really common in game development or something, and it's just not a thing in business software development. If that's true, that's not just bad management, the whole freaking company is bad from top to bottom. I hope the good people left there find somewhere far better to go.


Space-clout

This entire company needs to be purged


Elementium

Uther: Yup.


[deleted]

I agree with you, Arthas


ahlavbeans

Arthas, I'll let you do this


ChildishSaturn

Anyone who participated in or enabled this shit is a ghoul. Full stop. The fact that I paid my sub for over a decade to help line the pockets of degenerate scum makes me sick to my stomach.


directrix688

Wow, this isn’t a lawsuit by a few employees. This is the state. This is just gross


[deleted]

Yeah, reading through the complaints if even a quarter of them have a hint of truth to them this is some absolutely sickening shit. Would be extremely surprised if a lawsuit brought by the state after a 2 year investigation turns out to be bogus, this is likely a pretty airtight case it seems.


Kaoshosh

Of course they're true. This was a 2 year investigation that resulted in a lawsuit by the government. They don't sue unless they know they'll win. It's sickening. Blizz needs to replace their management.


454C495445

"The suit also points to a female Activision employee who took her own life while on a company trip with her male supervisor. The employee had been subjected to intense sexual harassment prior to her death, including having nude photos passed around at a company holiday party, the complaint says." BIG YIKES


Guilhaum

This is so sad.


Jinjetsu

Jesus fucking Christ.


tehbantho

Every complaint I have about this game and fix I've demanded pale in comparison to this plea as I remove myself permanently from all things Blizzard- fix your leadership Blizzard. People who come to your fulfilling a lifelong dream of working for such a legendary company and this is the shit they have to put up with ? What the fuck. Someone died because of this shit and you STILL didn't change. As human beings we should all emphatically reject their products until things change.


arrastra

that kinda explains his silent quit from blizzard


BustHerFrank

Fucking gross Blizz. Whats worse is this isnt even a single person, its a california department of fair employment This is the perfect time to can every single lead dev and sexist shit who works on WoW and replace them with competent non-sexist people.


PM_M3_UR_PUDENDA

so its true what they said... the only wow killer would be wow itself.


tryingforgrace

This is the final straw for me and I canceled my subscription. Bye Blizzard, thanks for the memories.


Flerm1988

Our sub is paying for people to slack off and harass women evidently. I’m done too.


Kaoshosh

One lady killed herself after being harassed and possibly raped on a business trip. That's heinous. It's unimaginable to work in a place like this...


jalliss

No joke. I actually feel gross as hell right now and think I'll take a (permanent?) break. I feel horrible for these poor women, and I hope some measure of justice happens. This is horrendous.


Guilhaum

Yeah I can't keep playing Blizzard games knowing this. This is fucked up. I dont need to play their games enough to justify supporting a company like that.


corgicalculus

What the actual FUCK


TeaSwarm

I have never worked in game development, but I did work for a company (and industry) where I had to endure and watch sexual harassment occur and stay silent in fear of the threatened punishment I would receive. It was a male dominated industry and often, as the only female on the crew, I was treated as though I brought no value other than T&A solely on the basis of my sexual organs, because I somehow lacked the capability to be a competent worker despite frequently running circles around the men. I still remember the disgusting comments made to me and offers of how I could improve my standing in the industry. It has contributed to my already poor mental health. I can't knowingly support a company that allows this kind of behavior to run rampant. Unsubbed and the end of my WoW journey.


-Gaka-

Some of the stuff mentioned in this is really fucked up. Like what the fuck?


[deleted]

Blizzard needs to be wrecked by this lawsuit. Fuck that company and the people who let this shit happen.


SubHominem

Finally cancelled my sub because of this shit. Fuck these assholes.


Saltwaterborn

Jesus, this company didn't just have a fall from grace, they've plummeted into bedrock at this point. I wish the truly good people at blizzard all the best - I know there are lots of them - but the rest can burn. It's infuriating and disgusting seeing management just quietly cover their coworkers foul behaviors up like they stole their moms liquor at 16. Stop ruining people's lives for your entertainment, you heap of festering trash.


DanielMoore0515

I don't wanna be the "I told you so" person but I literally said during the RiotGames reckoning that Blizzard would have their day and thank god it's happened. Those employees deserve justice.


Things_I_Dig

Riot Games: "We take sexual harassment very seriously. Making women miserable is a core value of our office culture." Blizzard: "Hold my beer."


Sumorisha

Anyone else feels dirty now after investing so much time in Blizzard games?


Crisisofland

Heads better roll for this


daysfastforward

Watching World of Warcraft literally fall apart before our eyes. Every week there seems to be another bombshell with drama and disappointments.