Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard is an American video game holding company. It operates as a subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming following its acquisition in 2023. The company controls major gaming franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Candy Crush Saga, and Crash Bandicoot through its subsidiaries Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, and King Digital Entertainment.

Activision Blizzard was acquired for $68.7 billion, making it the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history and one of the biggest deals in gaming industry history.

Microsoft's Corporate Complicity

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, Activision Blizzard is implicated in its parent company's extensive military contracts and surveillance operations. The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has designated Microsoft as a "priority BDS target" due to the company's central role in supporting Israeli military operations and facilitating apartheid and genocide.

Microsoft provides critical cloud computing and AI technologies to the Israeli military through its Azure platform. Leaked documents reveal that the Israeli military became one of Microsoft's top AI customers, with Azure cloud storage increasing 60% above pre-conflict levels and AI tools usage seeing a 20-fold increase during military operations in Gaza.

BDS Campaign Targeting Activision Blizzard Games

The Palestinian BDS National Committee has specifically called for boycotting Microsoft's gaming division, which includes Activision Blizzard portfolio of games. The BDS movement describes Microsoft as:

perhaps the most complicit tech company in Israel's illegal apartheid regime and ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Activision Blizzard games represent significant revenue streams for Microsoft Gaming. BDS organizers state that:

Microsoft Gaming, which includes Xbox consoles, Xbox Game Pass, Candy Crush, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and gaming accessories, make up a considerable portion of Microsoft's profit. By boycotting the Xbox brand, we're pressuring Microsoft to end its complicity in Israel's genocide, occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.

The campaign encourages gamers to:

Workplace Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Scandals

Activision Blizzard has faced serious allegations of systemic workplace misconduct. In July 2021, the California Civil Rights Department filed a lawsuit alleging that Activision Blizzard has fostered a "frat boy" culture in which female employees endure regular sexual harassment and experience discrimination and retaliation.

The lawsuit includes "constant sexual harassment, including groping, comments, and advances" and accusations that:

the company's executives and human resources personnel knew of the harassment and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the unlawful conduct, and instead retaliated against women who complained.

A Wall Street Journal report revealed that the CEO knew about sexual misconduct claims at the company and didn't inform his board of directors. This led to a second employee walkout. Multiple settlements followed the allegations, including an $18 million settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and an approximately $50 million dollar settlement with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2023.

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