Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has reportedly told senior managers that he will “consider leaving” if he cannot quickly fix ongoing issues surrounding sexual misconduct within the company.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Kotick said on Friday (November 19) that he would keep the possibility of resignation open if he could not fix issues within Activision Blizzard “with speed”.
These “issues” refer to ongoing allegations of a “frat boy culture” and sexual misconduct, which the state of California has sued Activision Blizzard over.
In the meeting on Friday, Kotick reportedly said he was ashamed of some of the incidents that have occurred during his time at the company, and apologised for how he has handled them.
Kotick’s own role in Activision Blizzard’s sexual misconduct scandal has been under scrutiny since last week, when a report alleged that Kotick knew of sexual misconduct in Activision Blizzard since 2018. The report also alleged that Kotick threatened to have his assistant killed in 2006, and further alleges that he intervened to protect an employee from being fired for sexual misconduct.
Since the report was published, Kotick has faced growing calls from within Activision Blizzard to resign. Over 1300 employees have signed a petition demanding the “removal of Bobby Kotick”, while company shareholders have also joined calls for Kotick to step down, stating “it’s clear that the current leadership repeatedly failed to uphold a safe workplace”.
Kotick has said that recent reports paint “an inaccurate and misleading view of our company, of me personally, and my leadership” and added that “anyone who doubts my conviction to be the most welcoming, inclusive workplace doesn’t really appreciate how important this is to me”.
In other news, charity organisation Girls Who Code has ended its relationship with Activision Blizzard due to “recent revelations about allegations of assault, harassment, and a toxic work environment throughout the company”.
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