The head of PlayStation criticized Activision Blizzard. But the management is still on the side of Bobby the Cat

Jim Ryan, who heads PlayStation, criticized Activision Blizzard amid the latest accusations against the publisher. He believes that the company is not doing enough to improve the situation. Meanwhile, Activision’s management continues to support Bobby Kotick and tries to calm down disgruntled employees. Reaction of the head of PlayStation

Ryan spoke out on the hot topic on November 17 in an email to employees, Bloomberg reports.

The

head of PlayStation was left “disappointed and stunned” by the events described in The Wall Street Journal investigation. He also stated that Activision Blizzard management is not making enough efforts to combat the culture of harassment and discrimination within its company.

“We contacted Activision immediately after the publication of the article to express our deep concern and ask how they are going to respond to the problems voiced in the article. We do not believe that their response statements properly clarify the situation,” Ryan wrote.

PlayStation has been cooperating with Activision for many years. In the last few parts of Call of Duty, for example, there were special modes and additional content available exclusively on Sony consoles.

Ryan did not say whether the company is going to take any action against its partners. He only stressed that Sony strives to provide its employees with the safest and most comfortable working environment. Ryan also urged every employee to report any case of harassment or discrimination.

Meetings inside Activision BlizzardShortly after the publication of the WSJ investigation, the management organized several video calls with employees of Activision, Blizzard and King.

Here is what became known from the internal meetings:

• all Activision Blizzard employees will receive a week’s leave on the occasion of Thanksgiving — the management noted that this has nothing to do with the desire to reassure employees against the background of the investigation;the company stated that it has no direct evidence of accusations against Bobby Kotick, since the events described in the article occurred more than 10 years ago;
• Activision president Rob Kostich (Rob Kostich) said that the company will not dismiss the Cat from the post of CEO;
• Activision Blizzard management still believes in its CEO and is convinced that he will continue to do everything possible to regain the trust of employees
• Mike Ybarra apologized for his lack of activity as Blizzard’s head and noted that the best days for the studio are still ahead.;
• Activision Chief Operating Officer Daniel Alegre noted that Ibarra and former Blizzard co—CEO Jen Oneal were offered the same salaries – it’s just that initially the difference in salaries was caused by problems with cash and shares;
• Activision Blizzard has imposed a complete ban on alcohol in its offices and allowed employees to take paid days off to improve their mental health;
• meanwhile, many employees were dissatisfied with the meetings held — in internal chats in Slack, they continue to call the Cat to account and demand his dismissal.
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The Activision Blizzard scandal erupted with renewed vigor on November 16.

In the WSJ investigation, Bobby Kotick was accused of concealing numerous harassment and supporting the employees accused of them. Soon after, over 100 Activision Blizzard employees organized a strike, and the company’s shares fell to their lowest in more than a year.

At the same time, the Cat himself called some of the accusations inaccurate, and the board of directors sided with him. However, he was opposed by a number of Activision Blizzard shareholders. They own only 4.8 million shares of the company (less than 1%). They demand to dismiss the Cat and also want to get the resignation of two board members.

Also after the publication of the investigation, Jen Onil stated that in fact she was offered an equal salary only after she informed the management of her departure.