When I started this blog, I wanted it to be a place for me to record my thoughts, somewhere to share the constant flow of ideas spilling from my mind, an account of what I’ve come to understand and what I still have yet to truly know. Of course, part of why is that I can evaluate whether something’s changed and, if so, why.

I used to know that Blizzard Entertainment was one of the most outstanding game developers around. Their software was top-notch, well-maintained, and had thriving societies around and within them. One of the things that set Blizzard out from the rest was their community management. They seemed to listen to and care about the fans, recognizing the people who helped them reach the greatness they would be known for. I essentially grew up on World of Warcraft, playing it regularly off-and-on from its original release in 2004 all the way to the Legion expansion in 2016. Diablo II was one of the first games I explored the depths of in my youth; between my brother and I, we had multiple level 99 characters, geared out with ethereal items and maxed with the best runewords. StarCraft, Hearthstone, even The Lost Vikings… Blizzard was one of the most influential developers from my childhood, and one of the reasons they stuck around for me was their consistent quality.

And then something happened. Maybe it was the acquisition by Vivendi, and later Activision, turning it into a conglomerate alongside King, Major League Gaming, Treyarch, and others. Maybe it was founder Mike Morhaime stepping down as president and CEO, shortly followed by co-founder and CDO Frank Pearce and lead writer Michael Chu, with J. Allen Brack attempting to fill the void as the new leadership of the company. Hell, maybe it had always been this way, bubbling just beneath the surface before it ever-so-recently erupted. But things started to boil over.

The 2018 announcement of Diablo Immortal was a bad sign. Literally millions of fans had been anticipating the announcement of a new mainline entry to the franchise. It isn’t awful that the expectation wasn’t met, but the way Blizzard tried making it up to the community fell flat on its face. Missing a lot of requested features for the PC and console game Diablo III, people were asking whether the game would be made available for either platform. “Do you guys not have phones?” will forever cement Wyatt Cheng in infamy. Not to mention the fact that the game very clearly resembles the free-to-play Crusaders of Light, developed by NetEase, a Chinese company who just-so-happen to have rights to distribute Blizzard games in that country. People saw it as a lazy cash-grab, that Blizzard used to cancel games like StarCraft: Ghost and Titan for not meeting the company’s high standards of quality, only to now outsource and reskin games for profit.

2019 wouldn’t be any better. In February, 8% of the company’s staff, roughly 800 people, were unceremoniously terminated, despite the 2018 fiscal year earning them record-setting revenue. Yet they still didn’t manage to meet posted expectations. I wonder if that had anything to do with stock prices dropping following the announcement of Diablo Immortal? The year closed out just as badly, after they banned grandmaster Hearthstone player Ng Wai “Blitzchung” Chung. During an interview following one of his matches, he wore a mask reading “Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times.” The interview was shortly thereafter cut off, his prize money (totaling $4,000) was forfeited, he was removed from the tournament, and would barred from future tournaments for one year. Not to mention that the two streamers conducting the interview were fired as well. Things got so heated, the US Congress was prompted to write a letter to Blizzard concerning the ban and how its decision “could have a chilling effect on gamers who seek to use their platform to promote human rights and basic freedoms.” Blizzard later returned the winnings and reduced the bans for both Blitzchung and the casters. Reduced, not eliminated. Regardless of your stance on international policy, it’s just not a good-looking move.

What prompted this reflection, however, was the recently-filed lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing following a two-year investigation into the company’s practices. Their complaint found that female employees were discriminated against in numerous ways, from lower compensation rates to being passed up for promotion. Male employees were often drunk at work and engaged in frat-boy practices, essentially harassing their female coworkers. Responsibilities were unfairly delegated to women, while the men got to play video games and make sexual banter. The suit points to one specific instance where a female Activision employee took her own life while on a company retreat, after nude photos of her had been shared around at a company party a few days previously. Blizzard denounced the suit as meritless and claims that the DFEH’s filing contains outright false accusations.

What happened to the company that used to stand up for its community members? Is it possible that, when I was younger, I simply didn’t notice all of these issues and controversies that now seem to plague the once-lauded developer? Or has the situation gotten worse over time, an avalanche increasing in mass and speed before becoming an uncontrollable force? And how can I continue to support them? Should I boycott their products until there is significant change in-place? Is it right of me to give up playing some of my favorite games, potentially harming developers who may not have anything to do with the malevolent tactics practiced by upper management?

I legitimately don’t have an answer to these questions. It’s somewhat uncomfortable trying to go back into Diablo III knowing what I know now. I haven’t made a decision as to whether I will eventually play Diablo IV, or whether I’ll even buy any of their future titles. I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I have friends working in Blizzard, kind-hearted and good people that I know would never tolerate these kinds of things. And yet, the environment still exists, the allegations have had their impact, and now, there are consequences to be meted out.

I had hoped writing this piece would help me reach some conclusion, that by the time I reached the end, I’d be able to figure out what I should do. The truth, like life, is messy, complex. There aren’t clear-cut decisions with their ultimate eventualities neatly laid out before you. It’s hard to sit by and watch these kinds of things happen to one of the biggest influences in my life, a company I looked up to, a place, at one point in my life, I wanted to work. Now, here I sit, passively taking in every new source of information I can, trying to figure things out for myself, trying to determine my own moral culpability for wanting to level up another Necromancer.