A Letter From CEO Bobby Kotick to All Employees

[DingDongKing]

Meritocracy & meritocratic systems are considered fascist to the fringe vocalists looking to make headway from all this.

You need to understand something. People who want to encourage diversity and inclusion - like myself - actually find companies taking over-corrective actions to be if zero help either. There is no value in filling a ‘quota’ as far as employment is concerned. It’s absolutely needs to be on merit, BUT as part of that, what’s encouraged is for recruiters to look outside their ‘set templates’. ‘Oh he’s a Harvard grad so he must be good’. That kinda shit. Replace Ivy League qualifications with other generic ‘checklist’ qualifications or preferences and you get the gist. That’s what diversity means. Not ‘hire a woman cos we got none’. Big difference.

[zorkuus]

Not sure are some of the white male rights advocates here are even in touch with the real world at all. If you think that the positions are held by white dudes just because they are more qualified and not because of hundreds of years of white dudes giving positions to white dudes you need to do some reading instead of watching Jordan Peterson youtube videos.

A lot more complicated than that. First of all, this is a video game company. Most people interested in coding/making games etc. happen to be men. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[Swnem]

HA! I knew that the moment the stock price dropped there would be blood in the water. These people only care about the money. If it costs them money, that is when they will move.

Lets see who gets layed off.

[Ivarr]

It’s not progressive. It’s WOKE MRNGGGH.

Side note, some incel surely needs to make a song called ‘Single Men’, which is a Weird Al style parody of the Beyoncé song. Where they talk about being ‘emasculated’ and hating ‘furries’ and whatever other shit they get upset about.

Using a man's lack of sexual achievement against him is quite chauvinistic in and of itself.

[Beuargh]

I think he may be talking about removing all references to Alex A. as soon as possible

I saw this a lot lately. the only reference I know about that dude is the grand marshal in stormwind. can you guys please point me to some other??

[Tooshie]

You sure about that? We are no longer allowed to be men, instead we are neutered pansies constantly afraid of offending someone. Meanwhile, other countries like Russia laugh at us for being a bunch of weak, flabby, cowardly, effeminate, and preachy little "victims" that are too afraid to kill our enemies or defend our homes.


Feminists are screeching about having gotten their mandatory military service here in the States. If you want "rights" you need to have "responsibilities" alongside it, such as getting your arms blown off from an IED.

Feminists in my country are battling AGAINST the male only mandatory military service because they see it discriminating against men, is what I meant. Also, there's no mandatory military service in US.

Also tough shit if your fragile masculinity is based on oppression and bad behaviour. Men are 100% "allowed" to be masculine, but insecure twats who think masculine translates to groping, harassing and pushing others down can whole heartedly fuck off and go extinct.

[Ivarr]

A lot more complicated than that. First of all, this is a video game company. Most people interested in coding/making games etc. happen to be men. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Right but with games there's a whole UX/Art department populated by women making it, as Maverick would call it, 'a target rich environment'. This is something management needs to be cognisant of if they want to keep a gaming studio from being exposed to liability. Blizzard's HR department clearly didn't get the memo.

[DingDongKing]

Using a man's lack of sexual achievement against him is quite chauvinistic in and of itself.

A man using his lack of sexual achievement to project anger onto others is destructive and toxic. But you don’t seem to mind that.

[Kayze]

Holy fuck man, you just validated my own character assessment here. You desperately need to touch grass.

Islam is a terrorist religion, was made so by the Prophet Muhammad, maybe you should ask him why there are so many Muslim terrorists.

Oh really, you know the religion so well? I guess Christianity is very unique with members of all a similar mindset and never advocated for genocide or holy wars. I mean, it's not like the bible was used to justify slavery, conversion 'therapy' concentration camps, dictate federal law, and even promote the banning of this game you seem to love. But sure, you're one of the "but all terrorists as muslim!" when there's plenty of domestic terrorism by white snowflakes.

Also, no one considers "all Latinos" to be illegal immigrants and "rapists".

I dunno, seems to have been a big talking point for a certain political party. So much that a does-nothing-to-curb-illegal-immigration wall was trying to be erected at the border. But yeah, the real racists are the ones talking about freedom and equality; Not the ones promoting an ethnostate.

You mean the fake "hate crime wave" that was a blatant hoax?

Weird. I guess you're calling our crime statistics a hoax. I thought you're suppose to love law enforcement, since this data is literally from crime reports! https://www.csusb.edu/sites/default/...%203.21.21.pdf

You mean the evidence that CNN is now confirming? You only ignored it because your masters told you it didn't exist, brainlet.

Confirmed? You mean cause the government is still looking into it? I'm sorry, what happened to "innocent until proven guilty" cause "looking into it" isn't the same as confirming it. There's a lot of things, even from conspiracy, that is looked into for a matter of national security. But it doesn't prove anything. But even if I was to concede that point, how is throwing it around with zero evidence and later "proven" at all justified?

Is that why male Leftists are the most sexist men on the planet? Or is it why your kind is full pedophile acceptance movements?

Don't even know where you were going with this one but weird last bit, cause I seem to remember the left easily pushing out problematic democrats like Harvey Weinstein while the right defended confirmed pedo Roy Moore, among others.

The left has its issues (especially since 2020) but you're long lost to any sort of rational thinking. Your depth of thought isn't even surface level, it's through blurry lenses.

[Ivarr]

A man using his lack of sexual achievement to project anger onto others is destructive and toxic. But you don’t seem to mind that.

Indeed I don't, those men are openly chauvinist, but you just joined their ranks.

[Oneer]

You need to understand something. People who want to encourage diversity and inclusion - like myself - actually find companies taking over-corrective actions to be if zero help either. There is no value in filling a ‘quota’ as far as employment is concerned. It’s absolutely needs to be on merit, BUT as part of that, what’s encouraged is for recruiters to look outside their ‘set templates’. ‘Oh he’s a Harvard grad so he must be good’. That kinda shit. Replace Ivy League qualifications with other generic ‘checklist’ qualifications or preferences and you get the gist. That’s what diversity means. Not ‘hire a woman cos we got none’. Big difference.

And nobody worth listening to refutes these points, as a self-taught, now senior developer in my earlier years it annoyed me to no end when recruiters had no interest in taking my application any further when they didn't see a major institution under my post-grad qualifications despite a solid portfolio & references.

While my jibe was curt it does only specify the fringe extremists whom are only self-serving for appearances sake.

[JSoup]

Or have you never read any of the ToS or EULA you agreed to?

Did you? Gonna copy and past my response from last time:
The actual text of the agreement suggests as that a cessation of services would result in compensation or "cancel your order and refund any payments made". Wording implies one leads to the other, with some operative language before it providing legalese weasel words.

Meaning they easily could and it wouldn't be without precedent. Now the question of if they should or not is debatable. Maybe the extra good will with the users would be worthy investment.

[Stormwolf64]

Look at all these bloodthirsty people. People are useless, and this goes for a lot of people on this forum. A LOT. Do you really fucking imagine that every man who works at Blizzard is a predator? I fucking hope not, stop judging people before you have any sort of evidence, scum.

And that is why laundry should not be aired in public. Since people are shit and all. Yes, you might get retribution for the victims, but 50/50 you will drag down innocents too, or molehills become mountains etc.

[zorkuus]

Demonstrably untrue. There are thousands of qualified women who apply for coding positions at Blizzard and similar companies.

The ratio of men vs. women interested in these fields is still largely in favor of the men. Also, maybe, just maybe the men are often more qualified? It's a possibility as much as the reverse is in some female dominated fields.

[DingDongKing]

And nobody worth listening to refutes these points, as a self-taught, now senior developer in my earlier years it annoyed me to no end when recruiters had no interest in taking my application any further when they didn't see a major institution under my post-grad qualifications despite a solid portfolio & references.

While my jibe was curt it does only specify the fringe extremists whom are only self-serving for appearances sake.

The folk using it for their own gains and are self serving aren’t the issue here even. Yes, there will be grandstanders just looking to maximise social currency. But their presence shouldn’t stop the drive towards a more inclusive work environment from top to bottom. For what it’s worth, I think Kotick is full of shit. Him adding that sentence in was just another tone deaf moment. He has no clue what real diversity looks like at all. Because he’s a dick.

[Kayze]

When they make their lack of sexual achievements the core basis of their identity, and blame everyone else for it while espousing a deeply unearned sense of entitlement to other people's bodies, it is absolutely fair game to criticize them. The sad thing is that most of these people could probably have satisfying sex and social lives if they weren't such bloody assholes.

Generally this. It's not that they haven't had sex, it's that they make it their own identity. They're literally re-enforcing the whole chauvinistic nature of it. If they felt that not having sex was problematic to their enjoyment of life, they could seek help. Instead they blame everyone else, assuming it must be some intrinsic thing they cannot and will not change. When really, it's usually their social behaviors, unrealistic expectations, and toxic view towards women that causes it.

[Ivarr]

When they make their lack of sexual achievements the core basis of their identity, and blame everyone else for it while espousing a deeply unearned sense of entitlement to other people's bodies, it is absolutely fair game to criticize them. The sad thing is that most of these people could probably have satisfying sex and social lives if they weren't such bloody assholes.

It's a highly masculine frame to apply to this world and very few self-avowed feminists seem to realise this rhetorical trap they're being baited into.

They already own their sexual failure. If you have to criticise them by buying into their premise; a man's value is contingent on how many women are willing to have intercourse with him, then you're making their point for them. You're reaffirming that indeed, men who can't get laid are losers and men who can get laid are winners.

[Tortuga234]

Meanwhile, other countries like Russia laugh at us for being a bunch of weak, flabby, cowardly, effeminate, and preachy little "victims" that are too afraid to kill our enemies or defend our homes.

We have our own problems here. But yeah, regarding all this woke bullshit you have over there we actually do laugh at that. You people scream for "equality" when your agenda is "i'm this gender/race/etc. so i want preferential treatment".

I'm a man, I work in a gaming company myself at the moment. My superior is a woman. Her superior is a man. His superior is a woman. Noone has a problem with that, it's normal, noone contemplates about such things for even a second.

No woman here screeches how their rights are violated here. And if that ever that happens (the violation) and it is proven the perpetrator gets fired instantly. Women even get a PAID by the employer paternity leave here.(which they do abuse a lot, like hiding the fact that they are pregnant at the job interview and leaving for paid paternity leave for 3 years after being hired)

My guess - it's all because of the soviet past, when since 1913 women and men were working as equals.

Of course there are some exceptions where entitled people want preferential treatment based on their gender, but noone actually pays any attention to that.

[Aurora]

The Activision share price drops and suddenly Bobby is interested in meaningful change. Just a few days ago they were threatening the state of California for even having the nerve to investigate them.

[Stormwolf64]

Absolutely no one is saying that. What virtually everyone except the crazies are saying is that a state investigation like this does not go to open lawsuit without mountains of evidence, and there are hundreds of employees both male and female who have worked at blizzard and are posting their experiences to corroborate precisely what is contained within said lawsuit. Problems like this do not start at the bottom of a company. The culture which allows them to flourish starts at the top, which makes it systemic and something in need of change. As the old saying goes, the fish rots from the head, so why you're popping in here to shout #NotAllMen rather than acknowledging that a few powerful guys harassing women is a genuine problem is an utter mystery.

You sound like part of the crazies, but you try to disguise it. Don't bring in some silly hashtag phrase next time you want to be taken seriously.