Testers from Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions) told Kotaku that Activision Blizzard opposed their unionization. They said that the publisher recently rehired the Reed Smith law firm, which is just helping to fight unions.

The deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is being checked by antitrust regulators around the world. Recently, in response to a request from the New Zealand department, Microsoft stated that it does not consider the publisher’s games unique. According to the corporation, they are also not a desirable target for its competitors-distributors of games on PC and consoles.

Activision Blizzard released its financial report for the second quarter of 2022 late last night. The company’s revenues have seriously sagged. Of all its divisions, only King managed to achieve revenue growth, which earned $684 million.

Call of Duty is so popular that it depends on which console gamers will eventually choose, Sony is confident. Among other things, the company said this in response to a request from the Brazilian antimonopoly regulator, which is checking the deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.

Employees of the QA department at Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions) were inspired by the example of Raven Software and also decided to unionize. They announced that they had applied to the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

According to a number of media reports, Microsoft has handed over to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) several more documents related to the upcoming purchase of Activision Blizzard. Now the antimonopoly authority has 30 days to request additional information, or the transaction will be automatically approved.

On July 6, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom notified Microsoft and Activision Blizzard of the launch of an investigation into the companies. The regulator intends to find out whether the $68.7 billion deal will have a negative impact on the gaming market.

There was information that at one time Activision Blizzard was negotiating the purchase of Dota 2. The deal did not take place. One of the reasons is that the parties did not agree on the price.

Yesterday, a vote was held among the shareholders of Activision Blizzard. The majority of its participants (67%) supported the idea that a publisher should publish a report every year on how he fights harassment and discrimination.

The news that Microsoft has agreed to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion has concerned public figures and human rights activists. They noted that the deal could exacerbate the problem of discrimination and harassment in the publishing house. Now the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has assured that it is investigating the takeover from this side.

Activision Blizzard has promised to report regularly to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on how the internal investigation concerning harassment in the company is progressing. In a recent report, the board of directors pointed out that neither he nor independent consultants found evidence that the publisher deliberately hushed up the problem.

Raven Software testers convinced Activision Blizzard to recognize their union. Today, Bobby Kotick said in a letter to employees that the publisher will still start negotiations with the Game Workers Alliance.

Родители Керри Мойнихан (Kerri Moynihan) — сотрудницы Activision Blizzard, покончившей с собой во время командировки с начальником, — передумали судиться с паблишером. Они попросили суд отклонить их иск «с предубеждением». Это значит, что его нельзя будет подать снова.

На днях инвесторы из SOC Investment Group заявили — руководство Activision Blizzard недостаточно пытается разобраться с дискриминацией в компании. Они попросили всех остальных акционеров не голосовать за переизбрание Бобби Котика (Bobby Kotick) и нескольких других членов совета директоров. Как оказалось, Activision Blizzard не оценила такое высказывание.

SOC Investment Group, which owns less than 1% of Activision Blizzard shares, again opposed the publisher’s management. She appealed to the other shareholders to vote against the re-election of half of the company’s board of directors, including CEO Bobby Kotick.

The head of Microsoft’s gaming division said this at a general meeting with Xbox Game Studios employees. Spencer added that a year and a half ago (during the previous meeting) he knew little about trade unions, but now he understood the topic well. In his opinion, unionization is one of the rights of employees.

Such a decision was made by the company’s management due to the fact that loot boxes are banned in both countries. They are considered gambling mechanics in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Some former and current Activision Blizzard employees felt that the publisher was not doing enough to combat discrimination. Therefore, they decided to create a special committee themselves and monitor the company’s actions.

Six months ago, the Communications Workers of America union said that Activision Blizzard allegedly illegally monitors its employees, threatens them and prohibits discussing a number of issues related to working in the company. For example, the salary and working conditions. He also pointed out that the policy regarding social networks is too broad.