Why the Activision Blizzard Controversy Shows That Video Game Development Studios Need to Change
The controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard is the biggest topic in the video game industry right now. Many video game news websites are boycotting video games made by Activision Blizzard in solidarity with the employees of the company. This all stemmed from employees coming out and sharing their experiences while working at the company. Many female employees at Activision Blizzard have felt that they’ve been denied opportunities in favor of male colleagues, but even more disturbing are the claims of sexual harassment.
Currently, there is a sexual harassment lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. It’s said that female employees have been forced to deal with a “frat house” environment while they were just trying to do their jobs. The claims allege that some male workers in the company would drink on the job and make lewd jokes about women. Needless to say, many female employees were uncomfortable with this, and some finally decided to speak up about the state of things.
This lawsuit is ongoing and it’s unclear what the outcome will be. However, it’s very clear that video game development studios need to learn from situations like this and change. The video game industry isn’t something that only appeals to the male demographic. Female voices are important in the gaming space, and companies that can’t protect female employees and give them a safe work environment will not thrive moving forward.
What Needs to Change
Video games are a form of entertainment that appeals to just about everybody. It’s a versatile entertainment medium that allows creative individuals to create experiences like no other. Many people feel that the potential of video games as an art form is just starting to be realized. For video games to reach that point, problems such as those alleged in the Activision Blizzard lawsuit need to be taken care of.
You likely already know that the video game industry is huge. The video game industry enjoyed sales of nearly $180 billion in 2020. Experts predict that the sales numbers will continue to rise in the coming years. Video games truly appeal to everyone, and this is why video games need to be created by diverse teams of people.
When you try to silence the voices of women or minorities in the gaming space, you’re taking away an important piece of the puzzle. You need diverse perspectives so that you can create the best video game experiences possible. If some companies have a frat mentality and treat female employees as disposable, then they aren’t going to be able to hang onto professionals who could help to grow the industry in exciting new directions.
To add to this, treating employees poorly and employing people who sexually harass others is just plain morally wrong. You can’t expect the public to continue to support your company if your practices have been outed to be so horrible. The video game industry isn’t a boys club, and it never should have been viewed that way in the first place. If some video game development studios and large publishers can’t change and offer safe work environments to all employees, then they will ultimately fail.
Treating People with Respect
Treating people with respect shouldn’t be so difficult. There’s no reason why someone working at a large video game studio shouldn’t act professionally at all times. The serious nature of the Activision Blizzard allegations should lead to changes in the video game industry. You’ll likely see more video game studios taking human resources concerns seriously instead of brushing them off.
It’s a shame that a lawsuit needed to be the catalyst for this change in the industry, though. Some game studios are famous for being great places to work, but others don’t have stellar reputations. Hopefully, this will make the entire video game industry safer for people of all genders, sexual orientations, and races.
If you have kids that want to grow up to make games one day, then you’ll want to see this industry continue to shift and change for the better. Proper parenting can help you to ensure that your kids know how to treat others with respect as well. You can do your best to put an end to behavior like this simply by influencing your children to treat people kindly.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.
