Blizzard head reveals how he plans to win back players trust

Microsoft recently announced that it is acquiring Activision Blizzard and all of its subsidiaries. This acquisition deal comes amidst the ongoing Activision Blizzard lawsuit, under which the company is being accused of multiple female employees being subjected to gender discrimination, sexual harassment and unequal pay.

Blizzard’s head Mike Ybarra in a new letter to players has outlined the studio’s immediate plans to address its culture, including several of the issues raised in the ongoing lawsuit. In a blog post titled, “Putting our teams and players at the forefront of everything we do,” Ybarra stated that the company’s “top priority – now and into the future – is the work we are doing to rebuild your trust in Blizzard.”

The post details the steps that the company is taking to improve its culture and communication with the community. For example, the post mentions that the success and compensation of Blizzard executives and managers will be measured against the studio’s ability to make “a safe, inclusive, and creative work environment.”

This notice follows the news of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick taking a pay cut back in October to achieve transformational gender-related goals.

According to the post, Blizzard is currently hiring internal resources dedicated to monitoring and improving its culture. These positions include a culture leader, a new HR organizational leader, and a DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion) leader. The studio has also tripled the size of its compliance and investigation teams.

“These actions are just the beginning of the work that lies ahead for Blizzard,” Ybarra concludes, promising more details to come next week.

Take note, Ybarra was working alongside Jen Oneal as studio co-lead until very recently. Both of them were appointed to replace J. Allen Brack. However, Oneal dropped her resignation soon after as she was reportedly being paid less than Ybarra despite repeated requests from both her and Ybarra to provide equal compensation. She was reportedly offered equal pay, however, the offer came after she had dropped in her resignation.

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