Executives at Activision Blizzard are weighing a possible countersuit against a California state agency that had claimed the gaming giant had a toxic “‘frat boy’ workplace” — only to drop its litigation last week, On The Money has learned.
The California Civil Rights Department, which had been investigating the corporate behind “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush” since 2021, dropped its explosive allegations Friday.
“No court or any independent investigation has substantiated … systemic or widespread sexual harassment,” the agency admitted in court papers last week.
California’s stunning admission also acknowledged there was no evidence that “senior executives ignored, condoned, or tolerated a culture of systemic, harassment, retaliation, or discrimination” and that neither the Activision board or CEO Bobby Kotick improperly handled complaints of misconduct.
Nevertheless, Activision still ended up paying a $54 million settlement — $47 million of which goes to alleged pay disparities — to settle the litigation.
“Reputationally a very powerful thing was for the agency to acknowledge there was no wrongdoing” when it got here to harassment, a source near Activision said.
Activision ended up paying a $54 million settlement — $47 million of which goes to alleged pay disparities. Paola Morrongiello
Some indignant Activision executives are drafting a defamation suit against the agency.
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The previous head of the agency, Janette Wipper, was fired by Gavin Newson a yr after she sued Activision for accusing Tesla of “racial discrimination,” — a claim that also proved to be unsubstantiated, in line with court papers.
Other Activision insiders prefer to easily put this chapter behind them, concerned that an appeal can be tantamount to going back into the belly of the beast, insiders say.
Accusations that ladies were “subjected to constant sexual harassment, including groping” and management fostered a “sexist culture” were enough to push the corporate’s market cap $20 billion lower over the span of several months.
The lawsuit helped precipitate Activision’s tie-up with Microsoft which won full regulatory approval earlier this yr.
In accordance with reports, Microsoft pursued the $75 billion deal after seeing the “Diablo” maker’s stock drop precipitously.
A spokesperson for Activision declined to comment.
