Current and former Ubisoft employees have penned an open letter in support of Activision Blizzard staff and the misconduct in the games industry at large, demanding accountability for their actions.
As reported by Axios, the letter has reached nearly 500 signatories backing Activision Blizzard workers that protested on July 28th, as well as criticising Ubisoft’s own handling of discrimination at the publisher.
Allegations of sexual misconduct were originally made against Ubisoft last year. The company stated it was investigating the claims, with a wave of resignations following – including chief creative officer Serge Hascoët.
This move comes off the news of a sexual harassment lawsuit against Activision Blizzard filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
“Real, impactful action”
“We have stood by and watched as you fired only the most public offenders,” the letter reads.
“You let the rest either resign or worse, promoted them, moved them from studio to studio, team to team, giving them second chance after second chance with no repercussions. This cycle needs to stop.”
The workers are demanding “real, impactful action” suggesting that training sessions were ignored by the people who needed them most. The group is demanding that the company “remove the pillars” that are actively or complicity involved in sexual misconduct.
The letter concludes that Ubisoft, along with other industry-leading developers and publishers, should work cohesively to produce an industry standard for reporting and managing offences. With this, workers request “a seat at the table” to make sure these matters are handled correctly in future.
To show support for the workers, staff were encouraged to share the hashtag #ActiBlizzWalkout via social media with many prominent figures taking part.
The entirety of the #ActiBlizzWalkout crowd in front of the gates for Activision Blizzard HQ: pic.twitter.com/TqnRNzFGku
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) July 28, 2021
Around 25 per cent of Ubisoft employees have stated that they have witnessed forms of misconduct in the workplace.
Over 3,000 Activision Blizzard employees past and present have signed an open letter to show their dissatisfaction with the company’s response to the California lawsuit.
