Tomorrow, July 28, we will see employees and alumni of Activision Blizzard participating in a walkout from From 10 AM-2 PM Pacific. This is in protest to the way that leadership has handled the sexual harassment lawsuit and to demonstrate that the words and actions of the leaders of the company do not reflect the employees.

You can read the letter over 2500 Activision Blizzard employees have signed that went to the leaders of the company down below. Further below, you will find the statement of intent and details of the walkout. If you'd like to show employees your support for the walkout, you can use the hashtag "#ActiBlizzWalkout" on social media alongside the blue heart emoji.

In a show of support to our friends at Activision Blizzard, Out of Cards has made a change to our site logo to rep support for the walkout.

Letter Sent to Activision Blizzard

Quote From Activision Blizzard Employees and Alumni

To the Leaders of Activision Blizzard,

We, the undersigned, agree that the statements from Activision Blizzard, Inc. and their legal counsel regarding the DFEH lawsuit, as well as the subsequent internal statement from Frances Townsend, are abhorrent and insulting to all that we believe our company should stand for. To put it clearly and unequivocally, our values as employees are not accurately reflected in the words and actions of our leadership.

We believe these statements have damaged our ongoing quest for equality inside and outside of our industry. Categorizing the claims that have been made as “distorted, and in many cases false” creates a company atmosphere that disbelieves victims. It also casts doubt on our organizations’ ability to hold abusers accountable for their actions and foster a safe environment for victims to come forward in the future. These statements make it clear that our leadership is not putting our values first. Immediate corrections are needed from the highest level of our organization.

Our company executives have claimed that actions will be taken to protect us, but in the face of legal action — and the troubling official responses that followed — we no longer trust that our leaders will place employee safety above their own interests. To claim this is a “truly meritless and irresponsible lawsuit,” while seeing so many current and former employees speak out about their own experiences regarding harassment and abuse, is simply unacceptable.

We call for official statements that recognize the seriousness of these allegations and demonstrate compassion for victims of harassment and assault. We call on Frances Townsend to stand by her word to step down as Executive Sponsor of the ABK Employee Women’s Network as a result of the damaging nature of her statement. We call on the executive leadership team to work with us on new and meaningful efforts that ensure employees — as well as our community — have a safe place to speak out and come forward.

We stand with all our friends, teammates, and colleagues, as well as the members of our dedicated community, who have experienced mistreatment or harassment of any kind. We will not be silenced, we will not stand aside, and we will not give up until the company we love is a workplace we can all feel proud to be a part of again. We will be the change.

Quote From Activision Blizzard Employees and Alumni

Statement of Intent

Given last week's statements from Activision Blizzard, Inc. and their legal counsel regarding the DFEH lawsuit, as well as the subsequent internal statement from Frances Townsend, and the many stories shared by current and former employees of Activision Blizzard since, we believe that our values as employees are not being accurately reflected in the words and actions of our leadership.

As current Activision Blizzard employees, we are holding a walkout to call on the executive leadership team to work with us on the following demands, in order to improve conditions for employees at the company, especially women, and in particular women of color and transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups.

  1. An end to mandatory arbitration clauses in all employee contracts, current and future. Arbitration clauses protect abusers and limit the ability of victims to seek restitution.
  2. The adoption of recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and promotion policies designed to improve representation among employees at all levels, agreed upon by employees in a company-wide Diversity, Equity & Inclusion organization. Current practices have led to women, in particular women of color and transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups that are vulnerable to gender discrimination not being hired fairly for new roles when compared to men.
  3. Publication of data on relative compensation (including equity grants and profit sharing), promotion rates, and salary ranges for employees of all genders and ethnicities at the company. Current practices have led to aforementioned groups not being paid or promoted fairly.
  4. Empower a company-wide Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion task force to hire a third party to audit ABK's reporting structure, HR department, and executive staff. It is imperative to identify how current systems have failed to prevent employee harassment, and to propose new solutions to address these issues.

Walkout Details

The walkout will take place on Wednesday, July 28th. From 10 AM-2 PM, we’ll meet in front of the main gate of the Blizzard Campus. We will not enter the Blizzard Campus due to the current COVID health and security measures. Parking should be restricted to the open parking lot in the building 5 and 6 area (Laguna Canyon Road) as there is no gate to access it.

Employees unable to meet in person may lend their voice to the walkout by stopping work and by sharing their participation on social media with the #ActiBlizzWalkout hashtag. If you belong to a different studio, please feel free to customize the hashtag: #(YourStudio)Walkout.