The boss of game publisher Blizzard Entertainment has resigned. Parent company Activision Blizzard announced the departure of J. Allen Brack in an email to staff today. Last month, the US state of California sued the company for discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace.
According to the AP news agency, the indictment states that Brack was repeatedly informed about sexism and sexual harassment but that he took no action.
The indictment also states that the company has a macho culture and that women were discriminated against. A female employee is said to have committed suicide when colleagues shared nude photos of her. She also had a sexual relationship with a supervisor at the time.
‘Deep commitment to integrity and inclusiveness’
The case was brought after a two-year investigation by a regulator. Thousands of (former) employees expressed their support for the case against the publisher of well-known games such as call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
Brack will be succeeded by Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra who, according to the email, have a “deep commitment to integrity and inclusivity”. The management does not write anything about the allegations against Brack. Last week, the company announced that it was taking measures to combat sexual harassment and discrimination.
Activision Blizzard is one of the largest game makers in the world with a value of approximately 59 billion euros and almost 10,000 employees. 20 percent of those are women.