Quantic Dream isn’t alone: it’s not easy for Activision Blizzard to find new workers or keep current ones…

We reported yesterday that the French studio is rumoured to be in a bit of a mess with Star Wars: Eclipse announced at last year’s The Game Awards (and leaked before), which could take an additional year or two to develop because Quantic Dream can’t find new staff. They have their reputation in the bin for the same reason Activision Blizzard does (the workplace climate is not the best).

The Bobby Kotick-led publisher has problems. Microsoft wants to buy them, but anything can happen before the deal closes (for example, the FTC could block the acquisition). We’ve written about Activision Blizzard several times, about the company’s scandals, and how Xbox’ head Phil Spencer contacted them about the buyout with a very slick solution at the beginning of the chaos last November.

The developers are not confident in the publisher: Axios reported on ActiBlizz’s annual report that they have to submit to the SEC annually, and they say they are short of the workforce, there is increasing competition for staff, and many are leaving the company in the lurch. These factors have led to a struggle to recruit new staff, and there are also several investigations into sexual harassment and discrimination around the company.

“We are experiencing increased difficulty in attracting and retaining skilled personnel. For example, we observed a significantly higher turnover rate of our human resources function in 2021. Additionally, recent litigation involving the Company relating to workplace and employee concerns… and related media attention can be expected to harm our ability to attract and retain employees and has resulted in work stoppages,” the publisher wrote.

It’s fair to say that Microsoft (if the acquisition goes through) will have a lot of work to do with the company. And then there’s a good chance Kotick will be kicked out…

Source: VGC