The water boils hotter for Activision-Blizzard as the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer weighs in on the massive report from the WSJ detailing CEO Bobby Koticks involvement of his company’s “frat boy culture”.
Previously, many leaders and notable figures in the industry voiced their own concern about Activision-Blizzard following a detailed report by the WallStreetJournal about CEO Bobby Kotick. One of the biggest voices was PlayStation boss Jim Ryan who stated that “We outreached to Activision immediately after the article was published to express our deep concern and to ask how they plan to address the claims made in the article,” Jim Ryan said that he did not believe the company was addressing the situation well enough.
Now Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, is speaking on the matter as well; in an email acquired by Bloomberg Phil said that the Xbox leadership were “disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and action,” inside of Activision-Blizzard. The email goes on to say that Xbox is currently re-evaluating “all aspects of our relationship with Activision-Blizzard and make ongoing proactive adjustments.”
In response a spokesperson from Activision-Blizzard told Bloomberg that “we respect all feedback from our valued partners” and “we are committed to the work of ensuring our culture and workplace are safe, diverse, and inclusive.”
As the industry descends onto Activision-Blizzard, pressure within is growing as well. Following the same report, more than 700 employees have signed a petition to call for Bobby Koticks resignation as CEO. “We ask that Bobby Kotick remove himself as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and that shareholders be allowed to select the new CEO without the input of Bobby, who we are aware owns a substantial portion of the voting rights of the shareholders.”
Jonathan Sanchez
Article Team
