“I’m ashamed” • Eurogamer.net

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Former Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime issued a statement on recent allegations about the company, saying: “I am ashamed.”

This week, the state of California sued Activision Blizzard for what it claims to be a “frat boy” culture that has created “fertile ground for harassment and discrimination against women.”

Former Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.

The lawsuit alleges a culture of “constant sexual harassment”, primarily at Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of World of Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch.

Activision Blizzard has strongly denied the accusations, calling many claims distorted or false.

Morhaime co-founded Blizzard in 1991, when the studio was known as Silicon & Synapse, eventually becoming president in 1998 and then chief executive officer in 2007.

During Morhaime’s time in the company, Blizzard released massive hits such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Hearthstone, and contributed billions of dollars to Activision Blizzard’s bottom line. Morhaime left Blizzard in 2018 – a move widely seen as a blow to the company – and was replaced by current chairman J. Allen Brack.

Morhaime’s statement is published in full below:

“I’ve read the entire Activision Blizzard complaint and many other stories. It’s all very disturbing and hard to read. I’m ashamed. I feel like everything I thought I was standing for has been taken away. What’s worse but even more important, real people have been hurt and some women have had terrible experiences.

“I worked at Blizzard for 28 years. During that time, I tried very hard to create a safe and welcoming environment for people of all genders and backgrounds. I knew it wasn’t perfect, but we were clearly a long way from that goal. The fact that so many women were abused and unsupported means that we let them down. Also, we failed to get people to get away from it all. feel safe speaking their truth. It is no consolation that other companies have faced similar challenges. I wanted us to be different, better.

“Harassment and discrimination exist. They are prevalent in our industry. It is the responsibility of leaders to ensure that all employees feel safe, supported and treated fairly, regardless of their gender and origin. It is the responsibility of leaders to eliminate toxicity and harassment. in any form, at all levels of the company. To the Blizzard women who have been through any of these things, I am extremely sorry to have disappointed you.

“I realize these are just words, but I wanted to thank the women who have had terrible experiences. I hear you, I believe you, and I’m so sorry I let you down. I want to hear your stories. , if you are willing to share them. As a leader in our industry, I can and will use my influence to make a difference for positive change and combat misogyny, discrimination and harassment wherever I can. I believe that we can do better, and I believe the video game industry can be a place where women and minorities are welcomed, included, supported, recognized, rewarded and ultimately unimpeded to the opportunity to bring the types of contributions that we will all join in this industry. I want the mark that I leave on this industry to be something we can all be proud of. “

Morhaime left Blizzard to form a new games company called Dreamhaven. Dreamhaven is made up of two separate studio teams – Moonshot and Secret Door – each led by former Blizzard talent.

On its website, Dreamhaven says it wants to “provide a safe place where developers, creators and gamers can meaningfully connect.”

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