Activision Blizzard’s sexual harassment lawsuit has been causing quite the stir and is continuing to turn into a blizzard of its own.
Following up on the recent events of the California lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for ongoing sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination in the workplace, it has come out from inside sources to Kotaku that three more preeminent members of the team have been fired.
On Wednesday, 11th of August, it was confirmed via email that the trio is no longer under Blizzard’s employment.
“We can confirm Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree, and Jonathan LeCraft are no longer with the company,” wrote the spokesperson for Activision Blizzard.
Although there was no specific reasoning given for the termination of these developers, it can only be assumed that it’s due to major involvement regarding the accusations that have arisen, or could it be purely coincidental?
Although not having any direct indictments thrown against him, World of Warcraft designer, Jonathan LeCraft, is said to be connected to the Cosby Suite case as he’s seen photographed with a couple of male developers and a framed picture of Bill Cosby himself who was associated with the group.
Secondly, there is Jesse McCree, the lead designer for Diablo 4, and also the name-inspiration for cowboy damage-character, McCree, in Overwatch. McCree was also tied to the leaks of the Cosby Suite and after 15 years of service to Blizzard, he has been dismissed and Overwatch fans have even requested that the cowboy-gunslinger character gets a name change.
Lastly, for official dismissals, there is Luis Barriga. Barriga is known as the lead game designer for World of Warcraft and up until recent happenings he has also been the game director for upcoming title, Diablo 4.
Do not despair, this is not to affect the development of the anticipated title as further reassurances from Blizzard states the following:
“We have a deep, talented roster of developers already in place and new leaders have been assigned where appropriate. We are confident in our ability to continue progress, deliver amazing experiences to our players, and move forward to ensure a safe, productive work environment for all.”
There was a fourth addition to this scandal, although he was not fired, he was put on leave indefinitely. Lead game designer of World of Warcraft, Cory Stockton, was also tied to the Cosby Suite leaks, being seen in the same photograph as Jonathan LeCraft.
Overwatch players aren’t the only ones taking a stand for what is right. The World of Warcraft fan base is doing their part by holding in-game protests; gathering in the city of Oribos at the entrance of the inn.
Many changes have started taking place with everything that has been brought to light, including the decision to replace Blizzard’s president with a woman. Can we expect to see many more changes that are yet to come or will things start to cool down now that some of the main instigators have been weeded out?