A lawsuit alleging systemic discrimination against female employees within Activision Blizzard has reached its end, according to The Wall Street Journal, with the company and the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) agreeing to a settlement of approximately $54 million.
Two years ago, the CRD (back when it was called the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing) accused Activision Blizzard of fostering a toxic “frat boy” work culture, one which saw multiple women working at the company subjected to sexual harassment, assault, and unequal pay. Activision Blizzard denied the allegations, even firing a lawsuit of its own back at the CRD for “deliberately [unleashing] a hurricane of hostile media coverage against the Company based on malicious and knowingly false assertions.”
On Dec. 15, the two sides reached an agreement which, according to the CRD, will see Activision Blizzard pay roughly $54,875,000 to “cover direct relief to workers and litigation costs.” $45,750,000 will go to a settlement fund for compensating workers and Activision Blizzard must donate any excess settlement funds to charities for “advancing women in the video game and technology industries or promoting awareness around gender equality issues in the workplace.”
IGN, however, reports the settlement includes a withdrawal by the CRD about its harassment accusations. The CRD states “No court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that: there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard” or that any of the company’s board of directors “acted improperly with regard to the handling of any instances of workplace misconduct.”
In a statement to IGN, Activision Blizzard says it’s “gratified” to have finally reached an agreement and for the CRD to amend its complaints alleging workplace harassment. “We appreciate the importance of the issues addressed in this agreement and we are dedicated to fully implementing all the new obligations we have assumed as part of it,” it adds. “We want our employees to know that, as the agreement specifies, we are committed to ensuring fair compensation and promotion policies and practices for all our employees, and we will continue our efforts regarding inclusion of qualified candidates from underrepresented communities in outreach, recruitment, and retention.”
All in all, things appear to have worked out well for Activision Blizzard. Although $54 million sounds like a lot, considering the Call of Duty franchise alone is reportedly worth over $30 billion (per The Washington Post in 2022), that settlement fee is like a drop in the ocean for the company. Not to mention its top executives made over $68 billion from Microsoft buying it out. It’s worth remembering that Activision Blizzard’s stock dropped substantially following the initial allegations, which made it an easier target for Microsoft to snap up.
