(Washington) Video game giant Activision Blizzard will pay $50 million to end lawsuits filed by a California state agency, the Washington Post reported Friday. Wall Street Journal.
In 2021, the California Department of Civil Rights sued the American company, now owned by Microsoft, accusing its executives of ignoring staff complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination.
The agreement, worth some $50 million according to the WSJ which cites anonymous sources, would be the second largest in the history of this California agency.
The company, publisher among others of Call of Duty And candy Crushrejected the accusations.
According to the WSJ, California had previously estimated Activision Blizzard’s potential liability at nearly $1 billion, for 2,500 employees who could have grievances against the company.
In February, Activision Blizzard agreed to pay $35 million to the American market watchdog, the SEC, to settle lawsuits linked to the video game giant’s treatment of inappropriate attitudes within the company.
The SEC accused the company of failing to “implement necessary controls to collect and review employee complaints about misconduct in the workplace, thereby preventing it from being able to determine whether there were larger issues that needed to be disclosed to investors”
Microsoft announced in October the finalization of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the final chapter in a saga that has lasted since January 2022.
The American IT giant, already owner of Xbox consoles, managed to overcome initial opposition from British and American regulators for this $69 billion operation.