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Ryan wrote that he and Sony leadership were "disheartened and frankly stunned" to read the latest story about Activision Blizzard's alleged culture of toxicity and discrimination.

Bryant Francis, Senior Editor

November 17, 2021

1 Min Read
Employees gather in front of Blizzard Entertainment.

Yesterday's explosive Wall Street Journal report about Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is having a ripple effect across the game industry. Bloomberg News has learned that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan e-mailed employees today to inform them that he has e-mailed Activision Blizzard leadership to chastise them for their handling of numerous allegations of sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination.

According to Bloomberg, Ryan told employees that he and Sony leadership were "disheartened and frankly stunned" to read that Activision hasn't "done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment."

Ryan went on to say that he had gone so far as to reach out to Activision Blizzard leadership himself, saying that the made contact after the article was published to to say that their statements "do not properly address the situation."

These comments from PlayStation leadership are exceptionally notable, given that Activision Blizzard relies on close contact with the platform-holder to successfully publish and market games like Call of Duty

We've reached out to Activision Blizzard to ask about Ryan's e-mail, and will update this story when they respond.

About the Author(s)

Bryant Francis

Senior Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Bryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios' upcoming 4X strategy game Zephon and Amplitude Studio's 2017 game Endless Space 2.

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