Blizzard Activision execs subpoenaed by SEC over handling of abuse allegations

By Otto Kratky Published September 20, 2021

A report from the Washington Post has revealed that Activision Blizzard’s woes stemming from a lawsuit filed against the company by the State of California are far from over. According to the report, the company is currently the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its handling of sexual misconduct and abuse allegations. The investigation has led to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, along with other high-ranking executives at the company, being subpoenaed.

According to the report, the SEC’s focus is on finding out whether Activision Blizzard shared information about accusations of workplace discrimination and sexual harassment with “investors and other parties.” To that end, the SEC has requested a vast number of documents from the company, including personnel files, separation agreements, meeting minutes reaching back to 2019, and Kotick’s communications with other executives regarding sexual harassment complaints at the company.

The SEC’s involvement, asan arm of the federal government, significantly steps up the pressure being put on the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft publisher since a lawsuit was filed against it by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July. The suit alleges that women at the company were sexually harassed and regularly paid less than their male counterparts, most commonly at Blizzard Entertainment. Since the lawsuit, employees at Blizzard have walked out and the company’s president, J. Allen Brack, has stepped down.

Activision Blizzard’s immediate response to the SEC has been civil, with a representative for the company saying that it “is cooperating with the SEC.” Activision Blizzard’s first response to the California lawsuit was nearly the opposite, with the company saying that it included “distorted” information. However, Kotick walked those comments back soon after, saying they were “tone-deaf.”

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Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

Gaming

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition is about to clear its final hurdle

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Microsoft has had a tough time getting its acquisition of Call of Duty-maker Activision Blizzard approved, but it just cleared a major hurdle. The U.K.'s CMA, which previously blocked the acquisition over concerns about its impact on the cloud gaming market, says that it has "provisionally concluded" that Microsoft has addressed its biggest issues with the acquisition.

Namely, it likes that Microsoft will give the cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. "The prior sale of the cloud gaming rights will establish Ubisoft as a key supplier of content to cloud gaming services, replicating the role that Activision would have played in the market as an independent player," the CMA explained in a press release. "In contrast to the original deal, Microsoft will no longer control cloud gaming rights for Activision’s content, so would not be in a position to limit access to Activision’s key content to its own cloud gaming service or to withhold those games from rivals."
Its press release also reveals that Ubisoft will have the ability to make "Microsoft to port Activision games to operating systems other than Windows and support game emulators when requested." Essentially, it's pleased that Microsoft no longer has an iron grip on Activision Blizzard games outside of the Xbox ecosystem and is closer to supporting the deal because of it. Of course, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are pretty happy about this.
"We are encouraged by this positive development in the CMA’s review process," Microsoft president Brad Smith tweeted. "We presented solutions that we believe fully address the CMA’s remaining concerns related to cloud game streaming, and we will continue to work toward earning approval to close prior to the October 18 deadline."
Meanwhile, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson provided Digital Trends with the following statement: "The CMA’s preliminary approval is great news for our future with Microsoft. We’re pleased the CMA has responded positively to the solutions Microsoft has proposed, and we look forward to working with Microsoft toward completing the regulatory review process."
A final decision from the CMA is expected to be made by October 6. As Smith mentioned, Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is expected to close by October 18.

Gaming

Microsoft gives Activision Blizzard cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft

Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming Service Enters Beta This Week

Microsoft announced its intention to grant Ubisoft, the publisher behind series like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, the cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard titles if Microsoft's acquisition of the Call of Duty publisher goes through.
This deal was made in order to appease the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Microsoft has not had an easy time trying to acquire Activision Blizzard as it has run into heavy resistance from regulatory bodies like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.K.'s CMA. The CMA's complaints centered around the potential monopoly Microsoft could have on cloud gaming if the deal were to go through. There was speculation that Microsoft would divest its U.K. cloud gaming efforts to appease the CMA, but it has now presented this new plan that would technically make it give up control of Activision Blizzard game-streaming rights worldwide for the next 15 years.
In a blog post, Microsoft President Brad Smith explainsed that if the Activision Blizzard acquisition happens, Microsoft will give "cloud streaming rights for all current and new Activision Blizzard PC and console games released over the next 15 years" in perpetuity following a one-off payment.
Essentially, Ubisoft will be the one deciding which cloud gaming platforms and services to put Activision Blizzard games on, not Microsoft. Smith claims that this means "Microsoft will not be in a position either to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service -- Xbox Cloud Gaming -- or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services," and that Ubisoft will allow them to honor existing agreements with companies like Nvidia.

Ubisoft has been cloud gaming friendly over the past several years, eagerly putting its games on services like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna. With this deal, Ubisoft says it plans to bring Activision Blizzard games to its Ubisoft+ subscription service. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick also commented on the deal, saying that he approves of the deal, but that "nothing substantially changes with the addition of this divestiture" for Activision Blizzard and its investors.
The current deadline for Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is October 18.

Gaming

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition is going to take even longer

inarius diablo 4

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to extend the deadline for its impending merger. The companies now have until October 18 to close the deal, extending their original deadline by months.

The original cutoff for Microsoft's Activision Blizzard buyout was July 18, however, that finish line wasn't an easy one to cross. Just before that date, Microsoft had to face off against the FTC in a court case to decide the deal's fate. A San Francisco judge ruled in Microsoft's favor with only days to go before the July date. With a few other loose ends to tie up, Microsoft now has until mid-October to get it done.