Yesterday's news that Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard came as a shock to everyone throughout the gaming industry, especially the workers. The completely unexpected news also renewed concerns about Activision Blizzard's abuse allegations, with all eyes on Microsoft's higher-ups to speak on the matter. Many are waiting for them to explain how they will cultivate a better working environment for staff who have long complained of sexist abuse in the workplace, as well as crunch.
And now, for Microsoft's sake, it looks like it better have a plan in place. Activision Blizzard King workers have raised a total of $372,964 to support their strike actions, ensuring they can afford costly walkouts if management fails to adequately address the allegations of abuse within the company. The fund has already proven useful to staff over at Raven Software, who are now in their second month of strikes.
6,000 donors have contributed to the fund so far. Many have started pouring in over the past 24 hours, following the news of the acquisition. This comes as workers have started sharing the fund on social media once again, waiting for Microsoft to lay out a plan on how it will handle the investigations into abuse going forward.
Right now, all we have are a bunch of conflicting reports to go on. In particular, the question on everyone's lips is what will happen to Bobby Kotick? The controversial CEO has been an unpopular figure in the gaming industry for some time now, predominantly due to his enormous salaries and bonuses. However, the most damning reports about Kotick pertain to his knowledge about the abuse allegations at Activision Blizzard - and how he covered them up. Even his own conduct has come into question, as he reportedly left a voicemail to a female employee, threatening to kill her. A spokesperson for the company labelled this incident as "hyperbolic", making it clear that they would be keeping Kotick on board.