Geoff Keighley spoke with The Washington Post about how The Game Awards will “navigate” the whole Activision Blizzard situation. Keighley claims that he supports “people coming forward with their stories,” but he stops short of chastising Activision.
The Washington Post article writes that The Game Awards “didn’t want to diminish developers’ opportunities to spotlight their games.” Keighley adds, “[W]e have to think very carefully about how to proceed here.”
Activision Blizzard has been hit by multiple lawsuits and allegations. In July, Activision Blizzard was hit with a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (CDFEH) for gender discrimination and sexual harassment against women working for the company.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) then hit the company with a subpoena to investigate the company’s handling of sexual allegations and discrimination in the workplace, with CEO Bobby Kotick among those who were subpoenaed. Several employees staged a walkout for Kotick’s continued employment as CEO, even after a damning report from The Wall Street Journal.
PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo executives have been quoted stating that they were thinking of re-evaluating their relationship with Activision Blizzard. But it appears that Keighley and others at The Game Awards don’t share that same conviction to similarly address Activision’s various scandals. It should be noted that The Game Awards are advised by a board featuring several major companies across the industry. Rob Kostich, president of Activision Blizzard, is on that board.
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