Bobby Kotick may have departed Activision Blizzard while riding high on an epic payday, but the ripples of his influence are still being felt within the firm. It has been revealed that AB is facing yet another lawsuit, and at the heart of the allegations are comments made by Kotick himself regarding the state of Activision Blizzard’s leadership team ‘back in the day’. It has been claimed that Kotick complained there were ‘too many old white guys’ at the company, and shortly after, some of those guys were terminated.
Gone But Never Forgotten
In the ageism suit that’s being levelled against Activision Blizzard, former executive James Reid Venable has claimed that he was discriminated against by Bobby Kotick. It might have been a case of unfortunate timing, but Kotick claiming that the ‘problem’ with Activision Blizzard was that there were ‘too many old white guys’ shortly before dismissing an executive matching that description might not be a mere coincidence.
In the suit, Venable claimed that he was passed over for a promotion, and in his place, a ‘younger, less qualified, less experienced, non-white employee’ received the step-up – and promptly became hostile toward Venable himself and directly impacted his performance and reviews.
It’s also claimed that one female employee accused Venable of taking advantage of his ‘white male privilege’ – none of which was apparently taken seriously by AB’s HR department.
This news comes mere days after AB settled a sexual harassment lawsuit for millions of dollars.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that an Xbox Dev Direct show might be coming this month
