Wednesday morning, hundreds of Blizzard employees rallied outside the company’s main campus in Irvine, California to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment and discrimination charges. They’re asking the gaming studio to agree to four demands, including ending mandatory arbitration in all employment contracts. “Until these demands are met, we won’t stop fighting,” a walkout representative tells The Verge.
The move comes after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued Activision Blizzard on July 20th, alleging the company had a pervasive “frat boy” culture where female employees were constantly harassed, discriminated against, and underpaid.
The lawsuit alleged a male employee nicknamed his BlizzCon 2013 hotel room the “Cosby Suite.” A Kotaku investigation later found that multiple other employees were aware of the name. “We’re really glad to see these stories are being told and appreciate the journalists who are telling these stories,” a walkout representative tells The Verge. “We stand by the victims and are appalled by what we read. This only makes us more committed to our task.”
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