Blizzard – WoW team takes a stand, company’s stock plummets

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft team takes a stand, company’s stock plummets. The World of Warcraft team, which was named in particular in the crossfire of allegations, has released a statement after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued the company last week for mistreating female employees.

The WoW team has been gathering suggestions from its internal team following the lawsuit and has written the following statement.

Emotional statement

“The past few days have been a time of reflection for the World of Warcraft team, spent in conversation and contemplation, filled with sadness, pain and anger, but also hope and determination,” the statement reads. “In light of the brave women who have come forward to share their experiences, we are committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that we create an inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment for both our team and our players in Azeroth.

Those in leadership positions understand that it’s not our job to judge when we’ve achieved our goals, but to let our team and community let us know where we need to do more.” There will be some changes in both WoW Classic and Shadowlands in the coming days.

According to the statement, some items will be removed “that do not fit in this world.” This is likely to be the two NPCs that are modeled after Alex Afrasiabi. Afrasiabi is the former senior
creative director of World of Warcraft at Blizzard, and is specifically named several times in the lawsuit filed. He is alleged to have constantly harassed women.

“We know that we can only restore trust by doing the right thing,” the WoW team said. “But we are moving forward knowing that we share the same vision as our community which is to create a place where people of all genders, sexual orientations and backgrounds feel safe.” Apparently, a “Walkout for Equality” protest by Activision Blizzard employees was also planned for today to show management that “our values as employees are not accurately reflected in the words and actions of our leadership.” The protest will take place online today until 6 p.m. PT.

Blizzard stock free falling

The many scandals are also directly reflected in the stock market and Blizzard’s shares are falling rapidly. The stock is now at its lowest level of 2021 and is facing the biggest drop in value of the year. Currently, Activision Blizzard’s stock ($ATVI) is at 72.25 euros (as of July 28, 12:00). The stock has fallen almost 7% in the last 5 days. The corporation has still not issued an official statement. Meanwhile, many employees are on strike and there have also been boycott attempts by players.