Activision-Blizzard's silence over its mishandling of this week's China-censorship controversy speaks volumes about the company's ethics. It's not a company I want to support any longer.
Activision is a scummy company.
The reason it seems to avoid the same kind of ire as companies like EA probably stems from the fact its talented developers at studios like Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and Blizzard Entertainment make genuinely good games. Activision also employs some pretty underhanded tactics to avoid the same sort of controversy as some of its contemporaries, such as adding pay-to-win loot boxes to Call of Duty Black Ops IIII, long after reviews shipped.
These sorts of ethical questions can be considered subjective. The value of loot boxes certainly rests on the individual, and clearly people are buying them in droves or they wouldn't be included. That debate is entirely separate from what Activision-Blizzard did this week, however.
I love(d) this company. My old band was aired live at the first Blizzcon event to an audience of hundreds of people. I have more than 10,000 hours played in World of Warcraft during the past 15 years. I dropped out of high school to kill Nefarian, instead of taking my exams. I have hundreds of hours in Diablo, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch. I had my preorder in for the Warcraft III remake. I have spent thousands of British pounds over the years on these games, merchandise, and books.
Like most, I've suspected for a while that Activision was devouring Blizzard, but I've been naively hoping the company would retain its independence from the wider Activision, which seems to have nothing but contempt for both its customers and employees that support civil liberties.
Activision-Blizzard not only crossed a line this week, it blew it up with a nuclear warhead. It's with some heartbreak that I simply cannot support this company anymore.
Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...
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