Activision Blizzard to pay roughly $50 million in California discrimination case settlement

Activision Blizzard and California’s Civil Rights Department have reached a roughly $50-million settlement agreement to resolve a sexual harassment and discrimination case against the gaming giant, the Los Angeles Times confirmed Friday.

The Civil Rights Department sued the Santa Monica-based “Call of Duty” maker in 2021, alleging that women at the company were regularly subjected to sexual harassment, paid less, denied promotions and met with retaliation when they raised concerns with managers.

Activision Blizzard has long denied those claims.

A copy of the settlement — signed by both parties and reviewed by The Times — states that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that: there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard,” or that “Activision Blizzard senior executives ignored, condoned, or tolerated a culture of systemic, harassment, retaliation, or discrimination.”

As part of the agreement, Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay up to $46.75 million, which will be used to compensate women who worked for the company in California from Oct. 12, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2020.

The company also agreed to pay $9.1 million to cover the Civil Rights Department’s attorneys fees and costs.

Representatives for Activision Blizzard did not have an immediate comment.

In a statement, California CRD Director Kevin Kish said the state is “deeply committed to promoting and enforcing the civil rights of women in the workplace.”

“If approved by the court, this settlement agreement represents a major step forward and will bring direct relief to Activision Blizzard workers,” Kish said.

Women who worked as employees or contract workers for Activision Blizzard in California between October 12, 2015, and December 31, 2020, may be eligible to receive compensation, the CRD said.

Tech giant Microsoft in October closed its $69-billion purchase of Activision Blizzard after clearing a number of regulatory hurdles around the world, including in the U.S. and the U.K. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan opposed the deal but was overruled by a federal judge, and Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority initially blocked the acquisition.

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The Microsoft deal came after a protracted series of labor disputes in which Activision Blizzard employees alleged that the company harbored a hostile, sexist, discriminatory workplace, which Activision Blizzard forcefully disputed.

A settlement with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission led Activision to establish an $18-million fund for workers who experienced sexual harassment or discrimination at the company, among other types of workplace misconduct. The company denied all wrongdoing.

Microsoft has expressed ambitions to change that aspect of the gaming company’s culture after taking a different tack with labor and recognizing a union of quality assurance workers formed under the Communication Workers of America.

Times staff writers Sam Dean and Carly Olson contributed to this report.