ActivisionBlizzard's sexism lawsuit has new implications. After a character from World of Warcraft, a character is now being renamed Overwatch. McCree is undoed that he shares his name with a designer involved in the scandal. At the same time, the group is facing another lawsuit.
The reactions to the allegations so far show how sensitive the issue is and how serious the situation at Blizzard is. In the meantime, a few heads have rolled on the management floor. In addition to the Blizzard boss, Luis Barriga, Jonathan LeCraf and Jesse McCree are also high-ranking developers who have left the company.
McCree was featured in a picture from the “Cosby Suite” of Alex Afrasiabi, the only person named in the lawsuit, who was released months ago for his misconduct. In addition, the developer shows up as a participant in leaked chat conversations with Afrasiabi. A connection with the lawsuit and discriminatory behavior is not established by Blizzard itself, but results from the timing and indirectly from the statement of the Overwatch team.
It says: “We believe it is necessary to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better reflects what Overwatch stands for”. The renaming is not immediate, the change takes time to adapt all of the material. What McCree will be called in the future is unknown. In the future, Blizzard does not want to name characters after employees.
A message from the Overwatch team. pic.twitter.com/2W3AV7Pv6X
& mdash; Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) August 26, 2021
Complaints about lawsuit
The initial lawsuit by the US state of California for sexism and discrimination has not only led to a lawsuit by investors because of false statements in the balance sheets about risks and possible profit impairment. Meanwhile, the state has expanded its list of allegations to include the obstruction of justice, reports Eurogamer.
The personnel department allegedly destroyed documents from internal investigations and employee complaints. In addition, NDAs are said to have made it more difficult for employees to contact the responsible Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The efforts of the law firm WilmerHale involved would “directly interfere” and make the investigations more difficult – so they are not in the interests of the employees. In a statement to Eurogamer, Blizzard emphasized the extent of the measures taken. Accordingly, no documents had been destroyed, rather Blizzard had complied with every request from the DFEH.