Opinion: Activision Blizzard’s dangled carrot is no reason for forgiveness

I’m prefacing this with admitted bias. I have, repeatedly over the past few days, tried to write out my thoughts as a followup to my previous opinion piece on the Activision Blizzard lawsuit debacle. Every time I began writing, the anger and frustration pours out, coloring the pages with disjointed emotion and pained ramblings. It took me a while to understand why, now, on my fourth attempt to make some sense of the past month, I am still so angry.

I wrote my first piece last month, when we were in the middle of a media storm. The lawsuit had just been filed in California on behalf of dozens of women who were subjected to gross abuses of power, sexual harassment, assault and a complete disregards for human decency, all the while working for gaming giant Activision Blizzard. The details were heinous, as we heard of the “Cosby suite,” ”frat-boy culture” and absolute degenerate behavior mostly excused by higher-up within the company. 

Like many, I was horrified by what I read, although not entirely surprised. As a woman in the gaming industry, I didn’t have to imagine what they were subjected to. It is, unfortunately, par for the course. Most women who online game can relate. And that is  where some of my frustrations lie. My anger, however, goes deeper, and I struggled to figure out just what was driving that particular emotion. I’m not someone who is prone to anger. Not without a damn good reason. 

Well, reason, I have. 

Marred past, but hope remained

Recently, I found an old paper I wrote about five years ago for my college English class. In it, I examined some of the strides the gaming industry were making to be more inclusive to women and minorities. We were seeing more women on stages and panels, front and center at E3. They were proud of what they had accomplished and happy to share that with us, the gamers. We saw a shift in female attire and more characters in bigger and better roles. Things were taking an upwards swing.

However, I had to acknowledge the shortcomings we still faced, including the toxicity of many communities and at the time, the scandalous Microsoft Game Developers Conference where several women were paid to “strip tease” for the party-goers. You take the good with the bad, I guess? Progress was still being made. I was hopeful for a better future for women in the industry. And I’m sure I was not the only one.

Well, here’s to the present

Yet, here we are, only a few years later, facing one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of gaming. It should be big time news, still on everyone’s minds. We should be demanding change, and refusing to back any company who thinks it is OK to treat any person, no matter their gender, race or sexuality, in such a disgusting manner. We are somehow not above holding accountable a politician who has done the same horrible things. 

So imagine my heartbreak, when I realized not only has the ball slowed down in the media’s downhill slope, but has come to an almost complete stop when covering this story. I found only a handful of articles published this week about Activision Blizzard’s ongoing issues. Because the shiny new carrot is dangled in front of us, and gives us a reason to forgive and forget or so they hope? They painted over that black mold, and the building looks brand new, and everything is back on track? Perhaps it is just convenient timing. However, “the universe is rarely so lazy,” and neither is a business in hot water.

So, most articles mentioned it as an off-hand side note relating to Activision’s lack of named promotion in the new Call of Duty: Vanguard. Or how the other lawsuit might effect the company financially (the investors will recover, yay?) And let’s not forget the players who are abandoning World of Warcraft, although, they were going to leave anyways, right? No worries. Problem solved, at least until December when the case hits the courts. 

What do we do now?

This is where my deepest anger hits. Because, I love the gaming industry. It has been a part of my whole life. I love the feeling of losing myself in a good storyline. I adore the places open for exploration. My son goes to bed to the Hollow Knight score. 

I love what I do. Writing for a gaming magazine is secondary only to being a writer for a game. And I have the privilege of working with an bunch of amazing guys who support and challenge me, with respect. This should be the norm, what our industry, our family is all about. But it’s not for those who had their lives torn apart by senseless misogyny. By assholes who get away with “Cosby suites” and strip parties. Women, with numbers growing even now due to a recently updated filing from California in the courts to include “contingent or temporary workers” for Activision Blizzard who were victimized.

Whom, it feels like, we are forgetting in the face of some new offering. 

I spoke of a Reckoning for Activision Blizzard and the gaming industry as a whole in my last piece. And I firmly believe that change possible. It should not be in December or not when the next scandal hits and more lives are ruined. But right now. We have a choice, and damnit!  It’s a hard one. It has broken my heart to stay completely away from Call of Duty, to not even watch the trailer for the upcoming game, although it has my absolute favorite mode. My joy, robbed by a bunch of groping morons. 

But I cannot in good conscious offer my support to the women fighting to see the wrongs righted and still say it’s OK by giving anything to the very company who would aim to keep that away from them, including allegedly “stymied [the DFEH] efforts through NDAs, requiring employees to speak with the company ahead of contacting the DFEH.” I will not help Activision Blizzard, who are “[shredding]documents related to investigations and complaints,” in an attempt to silence those who speak out.

I must note that a little bit of light shone today. During Gamescom 2021 Opening Night Live Stream, it was observed that the media outlets actively tweeting went silent during gameplay of Call of Duty: Vanguard. While there is nothing definitive as to the reason why, there is some hope.

The questions remain: How will we continue to act or react as future developments unfold? Will we forget what Activision Blizzard has done? Or will we refuse to “go gentle into that good night?”