GYGO: What a Week, Huh

Hello and welcome to Get Your Game On. I’m Maddi, your host for this week, and I’m tired. Here in the United States, we’ve been experiencing a particularly horrifying onslaught of events over the last several months, from the likely end of Roe v. Wade to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde. If you have cash to spare, GoFundMe has created a central hub of verified fundraisers raising money in support of families who lost loved ones in the shooting at Ross Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Here’s Your Activision Blizzard Update

Twelve current and former Activision Blizzard employees have formed the Worker Committee Against Sex and Gender Discrimination. Some of the committee’s goals include improving support for transgender employees, breastfeeding employees, and employees taking parental leave.

SOC Investment Group, which works on behalf of workers by “hold[ing] corporations and their leadership accountable for irresponsible and unethical corporate behavior and excessive executive pay” has urged company shareholders not to re-elect six members of Activision Blizzard’s board of directors. In their letter to shareholders, SOC Investment Group cited Activision Blizzard’s failure to act in the interest of its employees as allegations of discrimination and harassment as the reasoning behind their call to action.

Finally, Phil Spencer, who heads Xbox, said in an all-hands meeting that Xbox would recognize Raven Software’s recently formed union once the Activision Blizzard-Microsoft deal goes through.

Three Microsoft Employees Accused of Harassment, Abuse

A new report accuses high-ranking Microsoft employees of fostering a culture of verbal abuse and sexual harassment within the company. The report, published by Insider, names Alex Kipman, inventor of the HoloLens and current head of Microsoft’s metaverse projects. Terry Myerson, who oversaw Windows but left Microsoft in 2018, and Tom Keene, a corporate vice president of Azure, were also called out in the report. The news broke just a day after the Worker Committee Against Sex and Gender Discrimination was announced.

In other news…

While it was heartwarming to see studios like Insomniac, Bungie and Certain Affinity go to bat for abortion rights, EA announced that they will refuse to publicly support transgender rights or abortion rights. According to Kotaku, EA’s reasoning was a need to be inclusive of all points of view, which as we all know means they would rather appeal to anti-trans and anti-abortion extremists than risk that fanbase. Thanks for nothing, EA!

Netmarble recently released Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds, a free-to-play MMORPG mobile game to generally positive reviews. However, many players are now disappointed that Netmarble’s future plans for the game include blockchain and NFT integration.

Sims fans can now choose their characters’ pronouns thanks to a Sims 4 update.

Apparently Sims 4 is the gift that keeps on giving. The game now has its own version of Animal Crossing‘s beloved Froggy Chair.

I, for one, continue to be stymied by the passage of time. That’s right, Overwatch is somehow six whole years old (for better or worse).