So, figuratively speaking, there could be blood on the hands of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick…

Last year, we reported that the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) was suing Activision Blizzard, then independent of Microsoft. Still, things got much darker when The Washington Post reported that the family of a former Activision Blizzard employee is suing the publisher. The reason for the word “former” is that the person committed suicide after being sexually harassed by her boss, which played a significant role in taking her life…

The lawsuit also accused the deceased employee’s boss of allegedly lying to the police after investigating the death. He failed to disclose to the authorities that he had sexual relations with the employee and hid evidence from them. According to the family, Activision Blizzard refused to hand over a laptop provided by the publisher for work to the police. Her mobile phone was “wiped clean”, and even the boss’s computer or mobile phone was not made available…

The DFEH’s complaint did not name the employee, but it did mention that a woman committed suicide due to the harassment and that her colleagues shared an explicit picture of her at a holiday party. At the time, the publisher severely slammed DFEH with this statement, “We are sickened by the reprehensible conduct of the DFEH to drag into the complaint the tragic suicide of an employee whose passing has no bearing whatsoever on this case and with no regard for her grieving family.” Oh, how cynical…

And in response to the recent lawsuit, a spokesperson for Activision Blizzard told The Washington Post, “We will address the complaint through the legal process as appropriate, and out of respect for the family, we have no further comment at this time.” But it does seem that, given the causal link, the publisher did impact the unnamed woman’s suicide, which is both unfortunate and outrageous.

Source: Gamesindustry