Activision Blizzard employees plan new walkout over lifting vaccine mandates [Update]
The ABK Workers Alliance has laid out multiple demands in response to the planned removal of a vaccine mandate.
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Update 7:45 p.m. ET: Activision Blizzard allowing studios to set their own mandates.
What you need to know
Activision Blizzard employees are planning a new walkout, pushing back on several elements of the current planned return to office for the company.
According to anannouncementfrom the ABK Workers Alliance, a group of employees are planning to walk out on Monday, April 4 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. The workers have three demands: Reversing the removal of the current vaccine mandate at the company, offering remote work as a permanent solution, and the ability for individual employees to make the decision to work remotely or return to an office.
This comes after months of prior walkouts as workers have demanded accountability from company leadership in light of theActivision Blizzard lawsuitthat broke in 2021. Employees from Raven Software ended a strike in January 2022 as part of efforts toseek recognition as a union.
Activision Blizzard is currently in the process of beingacquired by Microsoftin a deal worth almost $69 billion. The deal is currently awaiting shareholder approval and undergoing regulatory approval, and is estimated to close sometime before June 2023. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is widely reported to beleaving the companyfollowing the complete of the acquisition. Over 1,800 employees at Activision Blizzard have signed a petition asking for the removal of Kotick.
If finalized, the deal will add Activision Blizzard as a third Xbox first-party publisher, alongside Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks.
Activision Bizzard allowing studios to set their own mandates
According to Blizzard UI engineer Valentine Powell on Twitter, the company is allowing studios to set their own vaccine mandates following backlash against a decision to end them for the entire organization.
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Breaking: Brian Bulatao has conceded to allow each studio to choose their own vaccine mandate requirements. So far I’ve heard that Blizzard, QAMN, QALA, and QATX have reinstated a vaccine mandate. I hope to hear that all of my fellow ABK coworkers will be similarly protected.Breaking: Brian Bulatao has conceded to allow each studio to choose their own vaccine mandate requirements. So far I’ve heard that Blizzard, QAMN, QALA, and QATX have reinstated a vaccine mandate. I hope to hear that all of my fellow ABK coworkers will be similarly protected.— Valentine Powell 💙🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@valentine_irl)April 1, 2022April 1, 2022
So far, Blizzard, QAMN, QALA, and QATX have reinstated the mandates.
Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
