Blizzard president calls sexual harassment lawsuit “extremely troubling” in internal memo while a VP says it presents a “distorted and untrue” view of company
Blizzard president J. Allen Brack called the allegations ‘extremely troubling.’
EngadgetKris Holt
Context & Ripple Effects
California’s employment regulator had sued Activision Blizzard over alleged sexual harassment and discrimination before Blizzard’s leadership addressed staff. Brack’s acknowledgment and the VP’s denial put two sharply different internal messages alongside the same case.
The response became the opening phase of a broader company reckoning: related coverage later documented employee accounts of a toxic workplace and reported the departure of Blizzard’s head of global HR.
First-order effects
Blizzard employees receive an official acknowledgment from President J. Allen Brack that the allegations are serious, while the VP’s statement contests the lawsuit’s portrayal of the company.
The conflicting messages make Blizzard’s immediate response a leadership and credibility issue, rather than a single unambiguous defense of its workplace practices.
The later reported HR leadership departure and the company’s reported hiring of a law firm in the suit’s fallout show the case extending beyond communications into organizational management.
Third-order effects
Workplace-discrimination litigation is increasingly testing whether game-company leadership can pair public accountability with credible internal governance; contradictory executive messaging weakens that position.
For large game studios, employee testimony and regulator action can turn culture concerns into sustained operational risk involving leadership, HR, and legal functions.
The trend: The story is part of a wider shift in which workplace-culture allegations at game companies move from internal complaints to public, regulator-driven accountability tests.
Blizzard president J. Allen Brack sent out an email to staff last night addressing the allegations from this week's explosive lawsuit, calling them “extremely troubling” and saying that he'd be “meeting with many of you to answer questions and discuss how we can move forward.” ht…
Activision Blizzard executive Fran Townsend, who was the Homeland Security Advisor to George W. Bush from 2004-2007 and joined Activision in March, sent out a very different kind of email that has some Blizzard employees fuming. https://twitter.com/...
@jasonschreier Step 1 - send internal email for initial damage control Step 2 - get public apologetic video published ASAP Step 3 - wait for everything to blow over Step 4 - continue as usual It's almost as if we've seen this before... https://twitter.com/...
@jasonschreier This sounds lovely. It always does. Then the controversy blows over and everything is, somehow, still the same. We'll start believing ONE word of that when we hear about drastic, tangible changes from the women employed there.
It's really frustrating to see this take from JAB. To say that anyone is able to bring these issues forward without fear of retaliation is to completely miss the point myself and others are trying to make by sharing our stories. The systems are broken. https://twitter.com/...
@jasonschreier This feels like a tactic they will use in court. Show the recordings in court saying “here is victim A saying nothing to leadership when asked about the allegations..” to sow false doubt in the victim story. I believe the victims. I believe the accounts are all tru…
Brack was individually named in the suit as having dropped the ball multiple times. If he holds the values he professes, he isn't leading well. Resignation should be on the table. How could anyone feel safe approaching HR, which exists to protect Blizzard... not employees. https:…
This is not how you respond to serious allegations of harassment and the hurt it has caused. But what can you expect from someone with that background. Maybe cleaning up should start here. https://twitter.com/...
“I disdain ‘bro culture’ and have spent by career fighting against it” writes the man on the left in this Blizzcon panel, where they all guffaw at a woman who dared to ask if a few of the female characters in their game could be less hypersexualized https://www.youtube.com/... ht…
@jasonschreier Like seriously, the reports are that management knew about the culture and enabled it. Why the heck would a victim want to talk to them about her allegations against them?
The emails from Activision Blizzard heads are both disappointing and infuriating, with sentiments such as, “these allegations are not the company I know.” They need to open their eyes and have a look around. https://twitter.com/...
@jasonschreier They have known about this for months and only now he sends this? “...I will be meeting with many of you...” feels like more of a threat than a solution. Why would a victim want to talk to the person enabling management to harass you? Especially if she is part of t…
“I want you to know you can talk to anyone on the leadership team”, reassures Activision-Blizzard's Blizzard president. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...