World of Warcraft players have banded together in a sit-in protest after a lawsuit was filed against Activision Blizzard.
The Issue
For those who are not aware of what’s going on, here’s what happened. On Tuesday, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing or DFEH sued Activision Blizzard for cultivating a “frat boy” culture in the workplace.
After a two-year investigation, the company was found discriminating against female employees and subjecting them to constant sexual harassment, retaliation, unequal pay, promotion, termination, among other things.
In addition, only 20% of Activision Blizzard’s workforce are women, and only a few of them hold top positions in the company.
Some employees came forward and have spoken about the issue on social media to confirm the stories and put credence to the allegations.
WoW Players Band Together
Because of the lawsuit, some World of Warcraft players and guilds have banded together in Oribos - a place introduced in the Shadowlands and considered the current social hub of the game.
This was first organized by Fence Macabre, a role-playing guild that runs faction-neutral stories on Moon Guard and Wyrmrest Accord servers.
The group encouraged all “sub-locked” players to join and donate to their fundraising campaign. The money will be given to the Black Girls Code - a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching girls aged 7 to 17 about digital technology and computer programming.
Sub-locked accounts are those that still have pre-paid active game time, and this is because the game requires a monthly subscription to play.
Other guilds have also supported the cause. In fact, some players even encourage others to join the sit-in protest to stand against the alleged actions perpetrated by Activision Blizzard.
Blizzard Harasser’s NPCs are Still in the Game
The lawsuit names Alex Afrasiabi, a creative director on World of Warcraft, as one of the abusers. He was so notorious that he was known in the company as “Crosby Suite,” which is a slight reference to the alleged rapist Bill Cosby.
Anyway, fans are dismayed that Afrasiabi’s references can still be found in the game. They are Lord Afrasastrasz and Field Marshal Afrasiabi: NPCs found in Wyrmrest Temple and Stormwind City, respectively.
Some World of Warcraft players went to the forums demanding Blizzard to remove these NPCs from the game. If that is not possible, at least rename or rework them to something else.
This is a very serious issue, and hopefully, justice will be served. So, what do you think about the lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard?
