Bulletins

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew of misconduct for years

A damning report from the Wall Street Journal alleges Kotick misled investors and his board about employee misconduct.

Activision Blizzard workers protest outside the studio main entrance

A newly reported story flies in the face of many of Activision's public comments regarding allegations of widespread sexual assault.

Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images

This story contains mention of sexual assault.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of severe misconduct among employees at the video game publisher and its subsidiaries for years, according to a new investigation The Wall Street Journal published Tuesday.


One of the most damning details in the report involves an employee of Activision-owned Sledgehammer Games, responsible for numerous Call of Duty games, who informed the company in 2018 that she was raped by a male superior on two separate occasions in 2016 and 2017. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kotick did not inform his board of directors, and instead the company reached an out-of-court settlement with the former employee.

The report is full of other alarming details, including an alleged death threat Kotick delivered to an assistant in 2006 and the dismissal of Activision-owned studio Treyarch's co-head Dan Bunting only after the WSJ asked the company about an misconduct allegation against Bunting from 2017. According to the report, Kotick intervened to protect Bunting two years later when the incident was being investigated and human resources recommended he be fired.

The report flies in the face of many of Activision's public comments regarding allegations of widespread sexual assault, harassment and workplace discrimination at the company. Since California filed a lawsuit against the company this summer, Kotick and other executives have pledged to do better and have claimed at numerous times that they were unaware of the gravity of the workplace toxicity issues.

Many of the measures the company has taken since have been focused on Blizzard Entertainment, including the replacement of former Blizzard President J. Allen Brack and the firing or forced resignation of numerous other top employees. Kotick also said he would be taking a pay cut and would end forced arbitration clauses in employee contracts.

But the WSJ report makes clear that these issues were not only longstanding ones affecting more than just Blizzard, but also that Kotick allegedly took measures to withhold incidents of sexual assault and misconduct from the company's board. The SEC is now investigating Activision Blizzard, specifically about the company's actions and communication with investors since it became aware of California's investigation back in 2018.

"Mr. Kotick would not have been informed of every report of misconduct at every Activision Blizzard company, nor would he reasonably be expected to have been updated on all personnel issues," company spokesperson Helaine Klasky said in a statement to the WSJ. Klasky added, however, that Activision "fell short of ensuring that all of our employees' behavior was consistent with our values and our expectations."

After the publication of the article, Activision Blizzard released a statement saying it was "disappointed in The Wall Street Journal's report, which presents a misleading view of Activision Blizzard and our CEO." The company says the incidents mentioned in the article "were brought to [Kotick's] attention" and acted on, and that the WSJ "ignores important changes underway to make this the industry's most welcoming and inclusive workplace."

Kotick himself also prepared a video statement sent to employees. "There's an article today that paints an inaccurate and misleading view of our company, of me personally, and my leadership," Kotick said. "Anyway who counts my conviction to be the most welcoming, inclusive workplace doesn't' really appreciate how important this is to me."

The ABK Workers Alliance, an employee activist group, has since announced that it's staging a walkout in response to the WSJ report and are calling for Kotick's resignation.

Following the company's defense of Kotick, the Activision Blizzard Board of Directors released a statement saying it stands behind the executive:

The Activision Blizzard Board remains committed to the goal of making Activision Blizzard the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry. Under Bobby Kotick's leadership the Company is already implementing industry leading changes including a zero tolerance harassment policy, a dedication to achieving significant increases to the percentages of women and non-binary people in our workforce and significant internal and external investments to accelerate opportunities for diverse talent. The Board remains confident that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attentio. The goals we have set for ourselves are both critical and ambitious. The Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick's leadership, commitment and ability to achieve these goals.

Update: This article was updated Tuesday to include additional details from the WSJ report, Activision Blizzard's formal responses to the story and the response from the ABK Workers Alliance.

Update: Added a statement from the Activision Blizzard board of directors.

Latest Bulletins

Mobile game revenue will decline for the first time in history this year, market research firm Newzoo now says in a revised outlook for the 2022 global games market. While the whole game industry is expected to contract by 4.3% — another first since Newzoo began tracking the market in 2007 — the company is predicting a 6.4% decline in mobile game spending on top of a 4.2% decline in console game spending.

Keep ReadingShow less

Amazon is planning to lay off thousands of employees, Protocol has learned, ahead of what the company has cautioned will be a slow holiday shopping season.

Keep ReadingShow less

Google agreed to pay $391.5 million and make changes to its user privacy controls as part of a settlement with a coalition of 40 state attorneys general. The coalition accused Google of misleading customers about location-tracking practices that informed ad targeting.

Keep ReadingShow less

FTX has filed for bankruptcy and the crypto company also announced that founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned as CEO.

Keep ReadingShow less

Salesforce recently updated its internal policies to make it easier for managers to terminate employees for performance issues without HR involvement, Protocol has learned, a move that comes as the software giant looks to shed as many as 2,500 jobs.

Keep ReadingShow less

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said fraud and scam reports comprise the top complaint it receives about virtual currencies — and that customers are finding little help from companies when it happens.

Keep ReadingShow less

Elon Musk sent his first email to Twitter staff late Wednesday, warning of a difficult economic road ahead and telling employees they need to be in office for a minimum of 40 hours per week. "Sorry that this is my first email to the whole company, but there is no way to sugarcoat the message," he began, ominously.

Keep ReadingShow less

Binance isn’t buying FTX after all. The crypto giant said Wednesday it has decided that it “will not pursue the potential acquisition” based on a “corporate due diligence” review.

Keep ReadingShow less

On Wednesday, John Kerry unveiled a plan for a new carbon credit program aimed at mobilizing private capital to help middle-income countries transition away from coal and move toward renewable energy.

Keep ReadingShow less

Meta announced it was laying off more than 11,000 employees Wednesday morning, slashing jobs in its recruiting department and refocusing its remaining team on AI discovery, ads, and its investment in the metaverse.

"I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here," Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a message to employees that was also posted online. "I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted."

Keep ReadingShow less

Al Gore has one mission this week at COP27, and that’s to give climate negotiators what he hopes will be a critical tool to address the crisis at hand: an independent, global inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, down to the individual facility.

The Climate TRACE coalition just released the world’s most detailed inventory of global greenhouse gas emissions, which Gore, a founding member, is unveiling on Wednesday at the United Nations climate summit in Egypt.

Keep ReadingShow less

Way back in March, your friendly Protocol Climate team offered you some tips for writing a climate plan that doesn’t suck. Surely you took that advice. But if for some reason you didn’t, the United Nations has your back.

Keep ReadingShow less

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said Tuesday the crypto powerhouse signed a deal to acquire rival FTX.

Keep ReadingShow less

Salesforce is preparing for a major round of layoffs that could affect as many as 2,500 workers across the software vendor, Protocol has learned, in a bid to cut costs amid a new activist investor challenge and harsh economic conditions.

Keep ReadingShow less

BlockFi has introduced a new digital assets interest product for accredited investors, after previously agreeing to shut down a yield-paying crypto product that the SEC said was illegal.

Keep ReadingShow less

The Justice Department said Monday it seized $3.4 billion worth of bitcoin stolen in the 2012 hack of the Silk Road dark web marketplace.

Keep ReadingShow less

U.S. election infrastructure is exceedingly secure, and voter fraud here is sorare it’s comparable to your annual chances of getting struck by lightning. Despite this, former President Donald Trump and a long list of allies in the Republican Party have spent the last two years questioning the overall integrity of the U.S. election system. Many of those allies are now candidates themselves, and their coordinated attack on the country’s status as a democracy is not a relic of 2020. Some have already startedrepeating these “Big Lie” charges ahead of next week’s midterms. And the social platforms that help them spread their message haveprepared few measures to stop it.

Keep ReadingShow less

The White House just laid out its climate tech priorities to reach net zero by 2050.

Keep ReadingShow less

Coinbase said Thursday that it lost more users in the third quarter. But the decline wasn’t the disastrous drop that Wall Street was expecting, and that sparked a rally in the crypto company’s shares after-hours.

Keep ReadingShow less

The Biden administration announced $9 billion in funding Wednesday to improve home efficiency, which could help support the installation of up to 500,000 heat pumps. With winter approaching and utilities warning of gas shortages, there are some major challenges facing the technology that money can be used to tackle.

Keep ReadingShow less

Block beat earnings expectations, with strong growth largely fueled by its Cash App business. Traders sent shares up more than 12% after-hours Thursday.

Keep ReadingShow less

Stripe is laying off 14% of its staff, its co-founders said Thursday, as the fintech startup must start "building differently for leaner times."

Keep ReadingShow less

Roku saw its revenue growth slow in Q3, and warned investors Wednesday that things are about to get worse: “A lot of Q4 ad campaigns are being canceled,” said Roku CEO Anthony Wood during the company’s Q4 earnings call. “We’re seeing lots of big categories pull back. Telecom, insurance … even toy marketers are planning on reducing their spending.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Green jobs and corporate climate pledges abound, but skilled sustainability professionals are scarce.

Keep ReadingShow less

Robinhood reported a drop in third-quarter revenue but also a narrower loss on Wednesday, in a sign that it might be stabilizing its business as it attempts to recover from a staggering drop in the stock and crypto trading activity that fueled its growth.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bulletins