Notes

World of Warcraft Development Paused In the Wake of an Activision Blizzard Harassment Lawsuit

In the wake of a raging lawsuit filed against the publisher giant Activision-Blizzard World of Warcraft has been paused according to an experienced designer working on the game.



Tweeting on Twitter, World of Warcraft senior system designer Jeff Hamilton didn't mince words in his tweet, saying "I can assure you that almost no work is being completed on World of Warcraft right now while this insanity continues to play out. It's not for the benefit of anyone - not the players, not the developers, and not even the shareholders."



"Activision's response to this is currently taking a group of world-class developers and making them so angry and frightened that they're in a position of being unable to continue making great games," continued Hamilton.



California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed the lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard. A two-year investigation from the department alleges that alongside games, the company created an "frat boy" culture that was characterized by sexual harassment and discrimination were commonplace.



I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure of all the answers. I can assure you that almost no work is being done on World of Warcraft right now as this insanity continues to play out. It's all about games and game servers here It's not for the benefit of anyone - not the players, not the developers, not the shareholders.



-- Jeff Hamilton (@JeffAHamilton), July 25, 2021



The lawsuit's text paints a clearer picture and gives specific examples of male employees at Activision Blizzard harassing and shaming their female counterparts. "Female employees are subjected continuous sexual harassment, which includes being constantly battling unwanted sexual comments and advances from male coworkers and supervisors as well as being groped during "cue brawls" as well as other company events," reads a part of the lawsuit.


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