IT’S A LAWSUIT NIGHTMARE FOR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD’S OWL
- An ongoing lawsuit with the state of California is generating chaos for Activision Blizzard
- More Overwatch sponsors are dropping like flies
- Sexual harassment and unequal pay among the culprits
There’s an ongoing lawsuit the state of California has filed against Activision Blizzard –the company who has fathered Overwatch, Call of Duty, and the World of Warcraft game series– and it ain’t pretty.
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SPONSORS ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES FROM OWL
You gotta hand it to them, the sponsors aren’t making a splash; they’re quietly and elegantly leaving amid the lawsuit against Activision.
Companies who have already picked up their skirts and jumped the puddle include Pringles, IBM, and State Farm. And who can blame them?
It seems Activision Blizzard has gotten its hands sticky condoning and/or promoting what some call a pervasive “frat boy” environment in the workplace: female staff are apparently being harassed and paid less than their male counterparts. If you’ve been around the block, you know this is the business equivalent to getting caught with your pants down and taking a dump.
And now, in response, major companies who were once Overwatch League sponsors are rescinding their partnerships with the gaming giant and leaving them to rot.
The first one to grab their stuff and leave OWL and CDL, was T-Mobile, which set off a domino-effect among the other companies; as of August 3, Cheez-It Grooves and Pringles skipped and left. A handful of sponsors are still on board with OWL, but the jeopardy is there; it might be just a matter of days, hours, or even minutes, before they drop the hot potato and skedaddle. Among these still left populating the partnership board are Coca-Cola, Xfinity and teamspeak.
AH, BUT THERE’S MORE…
In a “kick the man down” move, on top of the California lawsuit, Activision Blizzard is also facing YET ANOTHER lawsuit, but this time it’s coming from the inside (pretty much like the “Alien” baby which burst out from the guy’s guts in the movie): this time it’s the shareholders who have slapped Blizzard with the lawsuit gauntlet for not having disclosed information regarding the OTHER lawsuit. It accuses Blizzard of hiding the intel regarding the California lawsuit to keep share prices stable in a pretty weird Inception-like moment. So now it’s lawsuit upon lawsuit for the gaming company for its shady behavin’.
We have no info yet regarding the ruling and outcome of either lawsuit, but it sure as heck already started slinging mud around. Stay tuned with us for more info on this legal slippery-slope slide.
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