It was long believed that the gaming industry was a “perfect place” to go and work because all you were doing is “making games”, but we all know now that this isn’t the case all the time. From the dreaded “work crunch” that has haunted many companies, including top-tier ones like Naughty Dog, to mistreatment in the workplace, inequality in terms of hiring and pay, not getting credits for games you work on and more. And the ongoing issues with Activision Blizzard in terms of how their employees are being treated continues to showcase this.
Just over the last few months, there have been protests, mass departures, and major players from Activision Blizzard leaving the company. And other companies are weighing in on what’s happening as well, including Doug Bowser of Nintendo, who sent out an internal email that was found and posted online. It reads
“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company. I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies.”
“Every company in the industry must create an environment where everyone is respected and treated as equals, and where all understand the consequences of not doing so.”
It’s good to see Nintendo taking a stand and saying it will never do things like this to their workers, and hopefully more companies will reveal similar thoughts in the times to come.