{"id":378764,"date":"2025-10-27T23:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T23:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/why-californias-lawsuit-against-activision-blizzard-could-get-more-complicated\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T23:38:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T23:38:00","slug":"why-californias-lawsuit-against-activision-blizzard-could-get-more-complicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/why-californias-lawsuit-against-activision-blizzard-could-get-more-complicated\/","title":{"rendered":"Why California’s Lawsuit Against Activision Blizzard Could Get More Complicated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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After years of investigation, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in July<\/a>. The suit centers around \u201cviolations of the state\u2019s civil rights<\/a> and equal pay laws,\u201d specifically concerning the treatment of women and other marginalized groups at the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shortly after this revelation, Game Informer<\/em> obtained a copy of the letter<\/a> Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent to the entire company. In this letter, he states, \u201cwe will do everything possible to make sure that together, we improve and build the kind of inclusive workplace that is essential to foster creativity and inspiration,\u201d<\/a> amongst other promises.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In September, a new and separate report<\/a> surrounding the ongoing Activision Blizzard lawsuits came to light when the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it was investigating some of Activision Blizzard\u2019s leading figures, including Kotick. That report\u00a0also revealed that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had been investigating the company since September 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On September 27, Activision Blizzard and the EEOC\u00a0reached an agreement in the form of a consent decree, which would resolve the dispute between the two parties\u00a0without an admission of liability. Essentially a settlement (although it still needs to be approved by the court), this agreement would see Activision Blizzard pay out $18 million<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

California\u2019s Department for Employment and Housing then filed an objection to this settlement, citing that it would \u201clead to the \u2018effective destruction\u2019 of evidence critical to its case and cause \u2018irreparable harm\u2019 to its lawsuit,\u201d via PC Gamer<\/a><\/em>. Essentially, if the Activision Blizzard-EEOC settlement goes through, Activision Blizzard would legally be allowed to seal (see: destroy) evidence used against it in the settlement, evidence that California\u2019s DFEH hopes to use in court for its lawsuit against Activision Blizzard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The DFEH is asking the courts for more time before approving the Activision Blizzard-EEOC settlement. That additional time would give the DFEH opportunity to show courts why this settlement could potentially damage its lawsuit against the game publisher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, the EEOC has surprisingly objected to DFEH\u2019s appeal against its settlement with Activision Blizzard with a memorandum of points<\/a>, as reported by PC Gamer<\/a><\/em>. Within those points is one key piece of information that throws a wrinkle into the DFEH\u2019s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are the three points the EEOC is using to appeal the DFEH\u2019s objection to its lawsuit:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n