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Can you supply some context to this denounciation?

1_player 5y ago
"Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Knew for Years About Sexual-Misconduct Allegations at Videogame Giant" https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kotick-sexual-misconduct-allegations-11637075680 https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kot... — mirror at https://archive.fo/fzdAv https://archive.fo/fzdAv And if you're completely out of the loop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Department_of_Fair_Employment_and_Housing_v._Activision_Blizzard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Department_of_Fair_...
nindalf 5y ago
There’s probably an essay that could be written to answer your question, but the short version is that Kotick is not a gamer, but an executive. He specialises in extracting maximum value from an existing property, everything else be damned. For example, Activision had a successful franchise Call of Duty that did releases every 2 years or so. Kotick’s insight was that they could release one every year and basically print money. He was right. He then used that money to acquire Blizzard, a company that had many beloved franchises. He then applied those same principles to the running of Blizzard, to the point where the company releases half baked, buggy, awful excuses for games. An example of this is Warcraft III Reforged. They did it because re-releases of old games are a reliable way to monetise nostalgia. And that’s just the somewhat justifiable part. Because making money is good, right? Shareholders love that shit. What’s less defensible is the toxic work culture that was fostered under him, where sexual harassment was endemic. Of course he never saw the fallout of that. They fired some patsies and called it a day.
- disgruntledphd2 5y ago
  > For example, Activision had a successful franchise Call of Duty that did releases every 2 years or so. Kotick’s insight was that they could release one every year and basically print money. To be fair though, they put two studios on it, which is very unlike other annual games, and a much better approach for WLB and avoiding (some) crunch.
elaus 5y ago
As a developer I have a strong dislike against CEOs that say things like... > The goal that I had (...) was to take all the fun out of making video games. > The executive said that he has tried to instill into the company culture "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" of the global economic downturn https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-games-to-bypass-consoles/1100-6226758/ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-games-to-bypass...

"Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Knew for Years About Sexual-Misconduct Allegations at Videogame Giant" https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kotick-sexual-misconduct-allegations-11637075680 https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kot... — mirror at https://archive.fo/fzdAv https://archive.fo/fzdAv And if you're completely out of the loop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Department_of_Fair_Employment_and_Housing_v._Activision_Blizzard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Department_of_Fair_...

nindalf 5y ago

There’s probably an essay that could be written to answer your question, but the short version is that Kotick is not a gamer, but an executive. He specialises in extracting maximum value from an existing property, everything else be damned. For example, Activision had a successful franchise Call of Duty that did releases every 2 years or so. Kotick’s insight was that they could release one every year and basically print money. He was right. He then used that money to acquire Blizzard, a company that had many beloved franchises. He then applied those same principles to the running of Blizzard, to the point where the company releases half baked, buggy, awful excuses for games. An example of this is Warcraft III Reforged. They did it because re-releases of old games are a reliable way to monetise nostalgia. And that’s just the somewhat justifiable part. Because making money is good, right? Shareholders love that shit. What’s less defensible is the toxic work culture that was fostered under him, where sexual harassment was endemic. Of course he never saw the fallout of that. They fired some patsies and called it a day.

disgruntledphd2 5y ago
> For example, Activision had a successful franchise Call of Duty that did releases every 2 years or so. Kotick’s insight was that they could release one every year and basically print money. To be fair though, they put two studios on it, which is very unlike other annual games, and a much better approach for WLB and avoiding (some) crunch.

elaus 5y ago

As a developer I have a strong dislike against CEOs that say things like... > The goal that I had (...) was to take all the fun out of making video games. > The executive said that he has tried to instill into the company culture "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" of the global economic downturn https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-games-to-bypass-consoles/1100-6226758/ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-games-to-bypass...