Blizzard has faced many challenges recently, some of which tragically touched on issues with toxic workplace culture, misogyny, and numerous cases of abuse, but Diablo 4 would be the first release that would steer the firm in the right direction. Several personnel involved in unacceptable and pathological practices have been fired, but this hasn’t stopped players from showing support for the workers and boycotting the game.
One of the business journalists, Jason Schreier, made the case for a potential uprising against the forthcoming episode of the cult series. An article by an employee of Bloomberg that advocated for a combined boycott of Activision Blizzard and the exclusion of Diablo 4 was very well received. Almost 4,700 people liked and shared the message at the time the screenshot was being created.
The writer notes that no protest genuinely demonstrates solidarity with studio workers, especially when those workers have not specifically requested it. A significant portion of the professionals working on the project is pleased with how the game was put together:
You can avoid gaming for whatever reasons you like, but unless the employees themselves are asking for a boycott, doing so does not show support for them. I’ve observed and overheard indications from Blizzard staff that are exactly the contrary.”
Some players are not going to play Diablo 4 to express their displeasure since they recall the severe harassment and abuse that occurred within the Blizzard ranks. In later messages, Schreier underlines that the studio’s issue is more nuanced and multi-format, but that the impending debut has many developers excited:
“That view of things, in my opinion, is excessively constrained. Another one: This game was created by some of Blizzard’s victims of systemic problems, and they are proud of it. The last thing they want is for players to abstain from the game due to a misunderstanding of alliance.”
“[Games are] 99.9% developed under stress” and “Blizzard is bad” are two general, false generalizations that do not adequately describe a complex, systemic issue.”
The first of the two positions mentioned was also boycotted, but despite the reluctance of certain receivers, it ended up being a global hit and had enormous popularity: Hogwarts Legacy.
“One person, whose opinions many people find repulsive, produced the entire intellectual property (IP) for Hogwarts Legacy. Like every other large video game company, Blizzard has pervasive problems with abuse in the workplace. That is a noticeable difference.”