Blizzard Employee Letter to Leadership, Other Responses to Lawsuit

[Xorzor]

Watching Chinavision-Jizzard implode on itself is actually more fun to watch and read about than actually playing WoW.

"Do you guys not have phones?"

Do YOU guys not have BRAINS??

[MoanaLisa]

One of the things I find most fascinating about watching Blizzard go through this is how completely unprepared they are for this. Again, I don't believe for a minute that they were unaware of nearly everything alleged in the lawsuit to some degree. Not only could they not satisfy the state of California after two years of investigation, they apparently have nothing in place other than people writing out internal letters that appear to be constructed for public consumption and random people tweeting different things.

It's really quite astonishing. It's not even off the rails. It's like they just decided to do away with rails from the start.

[Hannya84]

So are they gonna freeze subs? Because this bald fuck just said they aren't working on content updates.

Who the fuck is this guy to tell me I am part of the problem?

You just called him a bald fuck and then claim you're not part of the problem.

No one's going to give you $15 you whiny little hemorrhoid. Your money is gone, and you'll waste more when this is all over.

[Th3Scourge]

What's wrong with having female characters that look like they walked out of a VS catalogue?

[Ringthane]

Snowflakes in this chat, calling other "trash can". We are paying customers and just because some people at blizzard can't keep their hands away from others we are getting punished and "blamed" as part of the problem for wanting a product we pay for and they happily still charge for. Please get of your high horse.

But it's not all about you. I know that hurts to hear. But it's true.

[Raysz]

Lot of social justice warriors here. I wonder how many of those stopped buying Iphones after they found out that those were produced in countries with horrible working conditions, or stopped buying cheap clothing produced by children for 1 dollar an hour in Asia. Lets not forget buying gas from oil companies that destroy the environment and villages in Africa and other places. It's just very convenient to sh*t on Blizzard.

What happened at Blizzard is horrible, assuming it's true but ignoring the injustices I mentioned above, that's way worse. Bunch of hypocrites.

[Ezzet]

But it's not all about you. I know that hurts to hear. But it's true.

If you gonna qoute me at least come with something. It is all about us, seeing how he is trying to put something internal from blizzard on the players(customer) because we expect quality from a product we are paying for monthly.

It's wierd seeing you people thinking that what he said is somehow right.

[Soon-TM]

Hope you are Amish and make all your shit yourself cause I hate to break it to you but practically everything you own has someone being mistreated including all the food you eat. Either they are large enough to exploit illegal workers, or are small family run who work themselves nearly to death because the big factory farms out price em and need to use their kids as labor, or they are big factory farms who mistreat animals and often times the workers as well. Oh and nearly any vegetable you eat results in the death of thousands of animals each year.

You are painting quite a bleak world, but your suggestion seems to be "just suck it up lolz". Hard to say what your position actually is, but it does look like you support the statu quo. Yes, the same !@#$ty statu quo that you have so eloquently described.

[MasterOfNone]

The game will be fine. They will say they will do better.

-Do better
-Make a character transgendered or LGBTQ+
-Wear a pin saying how diverse and inclusive they are

Everyone will eat it up as usual and forget.

Extremely accurate. Blizzard was already a self proclaimed “woke” company. It’s ironic that this comes out the way it did for such a progressive mindset. People make the mistake of being emotionally tied to things. If you like it, play it. Otherwise, vote with your wallet and move on. I’ll never believe that most here are actually losing sleep at night about this. Virtue signaling is one of the worst things that people do these days to feel inclusive. Stop. Just stop. You care more about sexual harassment in California as you live in Ohio, than thousands of Somalis being raped or murdered because of religions and warlords. The hypocrisy out of many people here is palpable.

[Th3Scourge]

The top comment on Reddit perfectly sums up my feelings for that Alex guy:

I almost spat out my drink when I saw that tweet. What? You think we just give $15/m for nothing. It's a subscription based service, if you are not providing the service then why are we paying the $15.

I'm more than happy for them to put a freeze on the subscription costs until they get their shit together. When I pay for a service, I generally don't accept that part of the contract is that in order to receive the services, the company first needs to sort out its internal sexual harassment problems.

The fucking nerve of these people. With that mentality, the exodus is just going to continue.

[PenguinChan]

It's really quite astonishing. It's not even off the rails. It's like they just decided to do away with rails from the start.

Points squarely at the VALVE-like mentality their studio probably retains even after the merger and more of the financial team stepping in in the last few years. Makes sense - very difficult to just shift over that kind of workflow and mindset when it was ingrained in the companies culture for 15+ years.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

What's wrong with having female characters that look like they walked out of a VS catalogue?

Nothing. But it's now longer PC to say it, and apparently you will be retroactively judged for something you said that was acceptable over 10 years ago.

[Indigenously Abled]

Lot of social justice warriors here. I wonder how many of those stopped buying Iphones after they found out that those were produced in countries with horrible working conditions, or stopped buying cheap clothing produced by children for 1 dollar an hour in Asia. Lets not forget buying gas from oil companies that destroy the environment and villages in Africa and other places. It's just very convenient to sh*t on Blizzard.

What happened at Blizzard is horrible, assuming it's true but ignoring the injustices I mentioned above, that's way worse. Bunch of hypocrites.

It's easier to cull non-essentials. Lots of people need oil, clothing etc. Nobody needs a video game.

[OrangeJuice]

Jeff Hamilton blaming HR and Activision. Alex Klontzas blaming literally us. Ghostcrawler insinuating hes just misunderstood. Brack claiming to be unaware. Morhaime saying everyone else is also doing it. Metzen blaming man-culture. Even Blizzard's official response was to blame DFEH. Literal pieces of shit incapable of taking any form of responsibility.

[MoanaLisa]

Points squarely at the VALVE-like mentality their studio probably retains even after the merger and more of the financial team stepping in in the last few years. Makes sense - very difficult to just shift over that kind of workflow and mindset when it was ingrained in the companies culture for 15+ years.

Changing corporate culture is hard. Installing something like discipline in a free-for-all culture like Blizzard's is harder.

There's been a lot of back-and-forth about whether or not Blizzard is too big to fail. That might be irrelevant. Blizzard survives this.

The real question is whether or not they're too big to change. That's an open question.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

It's easier to cull non-essentials. Lots of people need oil, clothing etc. Nobody needs a video game.

Every large franchise has had stuff like this happen. The Blizzard allegations are small fry compared to the stuff that the big franchises actually had going on behind the scenes back in the day. For example, Star Trek, with TOS, Denise Crosby in TNG, Terry Farrell in DS9, Jennifer Lien and Jeri Ryan on Voyager, etc. But people didn't stop watching ST because of that.

The groping of women in Japan on trains and in the workplace is well known, but you don't hear drama about that hear in the West. It seems odd to hyperfocus on Blizzard as if they are they are the biggest bad. Or maybe people just only have a limited attention span and Blizzard is what they know, so that's why they focus on it?

[Th3Scourge]

Nothing. But it's now longer PC to say it, and apparently even if you said it back in a time when it was okay to say it, you will be retroactively judged for saying it.

It's so strange how sexualising female characters now is like some big taboo, but men having 80 inch chests and 40 inch biceps is completely and totally acceptable. I don't have a problem with either, why do people try to impose politics on to art?

People are free to go make their own games with their own characters that look however they want if they really don't like it

The West is actually fucked at this point.

[Exkrementor]

oh, that guy Alex Klontzas, is senior game producer of world of warcraft, n he just said, give us more money, stfu about expecting something FOR YOUR MONEY

fire this guy! no wonder wow is so shit right now with such a moron..

Bro they have bigger problems now, ok? Dont be greedy and expect something for your money. Also Blizzard lost 200 million Dollars last year and noboby knows how or where it went. Just pay your sub and wait a few years for another patch. Thats the least we paying customers can do to support all the women we didnt harass.

[Soon-TM]

Lot of social justice warriors here. I wonder how many of those stopped buying Iphones after they found out that those were produced in countries with horrible working conditions, or stopped buying cheap clothing produced by children for 1 dollar an hour in Asia. Lets not forget buying gas from oil companies that destroy the environment and villages in Africa and other places. It's just very convenient to sh*t on Blizzard.

What happened at Blizzard is horrible, assuming it's true but ignoring the injustices I mentioned above, that's way worse. Bunch of hypocrites.

So nobody can criticise Blizzard's (probable) wrongdoings without being the second coming of Jesus, it would seem. How convenient for those supporting this crappy state of things.

[Tarvi]

When 1000 employee's of a 9500 employee company all sign a letter saying you've f**ked up, you should listen.. you should REALLY listen.