Blizzard workers furious after ‘demoralizing’ Q&A meeting

Blizzard president Mike Ybarra addressed ‘employee satisfaction,’ but made a lot of workers more angry

[Vengeance1138]

Making an already bad situation worse, sounds like Blizzard alright!

[PapaBop]

It pains me as a huge fan of Blizzard to see this.. this isn't Blizzard, this is Activision. Going by some of the stories this year, the way the company operates goes completely against the founders philosophy for the company.

[Snookies12]

Blizzard has been dead for a long time. Coming from someone that spent 15 years on WoW, and put in tens of thousands of hours into Diablo. I will NOT support Diablo 4, despite it being one of my most anticipated games not too long ago.

So glad FF XIV more than filled the void of leaving WoW behind. Never knew I actually wanted good story in an MMO until Realm Reborn.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Blizzard at it again with the worsening your situation.

[Orchard]

I'll never really understand (or agree with) the push to get people back into offices. Yes, the start of COVID was bumpy and a lot of games were delayed as studios transitioned to remote work, which required IT infrastructure changes etc. But it's now under control, and the industry hasn't burnt to the ground.

So just let people remote work, consider it a perk for your staff, and then you get to save on real estate, utilities & facilities costs.

[1Victor]

Orchard: “So just let people remote work, consider it a perk for your staff “
Sure why not reduce the employees bonuses by 42%, while you at it give your buddies executives a no decrease on their bonuses while the company made profit

[Orchard]

Please show me where I said that. I guess reading comprehension isn’t your strong point.

[senorfartcushion]

It’s not even much of a perk because they’re still “working” from home 😂

If they won’t let workers work from home, then all they need to do is refuse to work in the offices in unison.

[esherwood]

It blows my mind so many people think showing up to work is a big deal. If it’s a good job there’s plenty of hungry people looking to stand out that will gladly show up.

[senorfartcushion]

Esherwood.

Nobody is talking about showing up for work, they’re taking about how they work. Remote Vs office.

Those hungry people don’t get to work in the offices at all and can only work remotely. You can’t exactly apply for Sony Santa Monica while living in Ohio can you, especially not in this day and age.

[1Victor]

Oops by bad about the 42% cut it apply to executive too I had the article in reader mode listening to it while brushing my teeth 🤷🏿 I guess next time I’ll raise the volume 🤣 over the the electric toothbrush noice.
Unlike you I admit when I’m wrong tho instead of reflecting with the classic they do it too

[Roarke]

Its very hard to make good games with remote players only… for remote works, culture is different, you cannot play together, brainstorm things, team is not bonded together, its very hard to motivate ppl through screens,etc… games are not commodities , its one of the most creative business, very hard, fulll of wrong ways, prototypes, iterations, etc.. every department has to find best way to achieve it together, you cannot completely split it…

[artgamer]

Sorry but that's a really silly take. Do you work in the industry?
Game companies have been working with remote workers for as long as there has been a gaming industry. Ever heard of outsourcing?

Hardly any succesful game was ever made without it.

[sinspirit]

Remote work has added productivity to many other fields. People tend to enjoy and be happier at home than to deal with a commute and pay for gas, wake up earlier, plan, etcetera. Yes, sometimes we need physical interaction and visuals in person, but this does not need to be an everyday thing at all.

[Roarke]

@artgamer yes, since 2000, used to work on AAA, indies stuff, different positions from low level to too management, than back to indie and again to top…

Outsourcing is great, remote is great… but you have to have core team working together, committed to achieve somethibg great…

But again it depending on what you want… if something great, innovative or avarage or cash cow…

Ask yourself as player what you want ;)

You just cannot have everything, remote means more money, it less effective, its less creative, it means less loyalty to team, more investment need higher returns, higher returns means higher monetization, higher monetization need bigger marker, bigger market need more casual players, more casual players need more shallow gameplay

it’s businesses, you need to be in black numbers or you are death..

[sinspirit]

@roarke

You talk a lot like you know about this stuff but I really don't think you understand. You just say some things are this way or that way without thinking why that is or what the people really want. Productivity goes up with remote work done right. So does reach for skilled employees that don't live nearby. Having remote work setups also means less issues with sick days and missing days of work for other reasons. Most people are more creative in their own dens with their own privacy and creative space. While it is beneficial to sometimes be in the office or building and around people, it is not the amazing creative river you seem to think it is. What is most productive is predominantly remote work and a certain amount of days going to work in person a month.

[CobraKai]

I feel more productive working at home. I don’t have to get up at the ass crack of dawn to get beat 1.5-2 hrs traffic, then get to my office 1 hr early. Then hit 2hr traffic after a 12-14 hour day. I think working in an office shouldn’t be mandatory if the work can be done just as effectively remotely.

[esherwood]

If it really was more productive they’d do it, I’m sure there productivity during Covid was way down which is why they want people to actually show up to work

[INMATEofARKHAM]

It doesn't come down to pure productivity... These companies have a lot of money tied up in rent/real estate and if the productivity boost isn't enough to cover those costs then, yeah, companies ate going to want to see those facilities used.

The article says a couple of times a week. TBT, I don't find that unreasonable.

[ikarodemon]

I can give you my opinion as a worker and Team Leader in the games industry. People work and develop much better in the office compared to remote work.

[onisama]

Yeah and that under control is lot of game delays and decline in quality... Japan studios and the ones with actual presence are the ones working truelly
I was working from home too and i admit that i was less productive and so others too everything moves slower
You need to be at a professional environment and be under manager to control work progress... In presence is never the same as distante... Distant contact isnt the best for human... In any term prof rolationships or education

[Knushwood Butt]

My manager has been remote for about 7 or 8 years. My current manager is in another country. Doesn't affect my productivity one bit.

[Eonjay]

Have to agree with you here. The counter point people make about the value of face to face interaction is completely subjective and somewhat overrated in the end.

[Crows90]

Working form home is poison for most companies. Work shouldnt be at home. People have a hard enough time separation work life from personal.

The ability to work from home also opens the flood gates for a ton of employer abuse.

[GamerRN]

Yeah but you lose on productivity...

[frostypants]

Remote work is great when the workers already are familiar with each other and work well together, but it's hard to develop that in the first place if entirely remote. It is much more difficult with new employees, and as time goes by the remote thing gets more challenging as employee turnover happens. I don't think being in the office every day is necessary, but at least a couple.

[senorfartcushion]

Get the punishment started then.

Make them pay.

[AmUnRa]

I wonder what happens when MS is the owner of Activision Blizzards staff....i fear for the worst...

[ReBurn]

Microsoft has already signed a labor neutrality agreement with the CWA in regard to Activision Blizzard should the acquisition close. They've publicly stated they'll remain neutral in employee efforts to unionize. I'm not sure how things will get worse.

[rippermcrip]

Most of that "agreement" is stuff that is already covered by law.

The whole basis of the agreement is "mutual respect" so basically it doesn't guarantee anything.

[onisama]

Yeah a psfanboy has lot to say about this.... Working for Microsoft is a dream for many... My friend works for windows and his having a pieceful life.... For poeple acually going to work its a must! You cant just stay at home forever!
I think people should get up with their fa* a** and go work and work hard far from their donuts and McDonald's...

[anast]

It's simple if the job can be done remotely and is not a security risk there is no need to go to the office. Save some money on rent and utilities.

Not to mention, company culture is dead as there is no loyalty given to the workers in places like Blizzard. Also, "you" can fire someone if they are not doing their job, the same way if they were working onsite. It's stupid to want a worker that cannot work on their own anyway.

[CorndogBurglar]

I don't really see the big deal about going back to work in the office. Most big companies are doing it or have already done it. People didn't think we would just work from home forever, did they? And this is only 3 days a week in the office. It's not even full time. There's a lot to be said about being in person with people in the workplace.

But the bonus reduction after they just announced making over $100 million profits? That's just scummy, greedy, and terrible.

[Angyobangyo]

I bet higher ups can’t wait for staff to come back to work, seeing as there’s a specific culture in that company of harassment.

[TheSenorCheese]

It's not every day you actually get excited about Microsoft taking over a company.

[sadraiden]

Other than the fact that Activision more than overcompensates in sales with CoD, how does Blizzard make money these days? Are there that many people buying mtx's in Overwatch 2? Are there that many people shelling out for the latest WoW expansion? Are the esports for 10 year old games still an advertising magnet?

Seems to me, the layman, that if they have any sense of self-preservation throughout the likelihood of the Microsoft acquisition, they would cut this shit out. You already have record-low interest in your games, as a game company, why would you want people to quit over bullshit overly corporate culture.

[CobraKai]

Only getting a little more than half the bonus, especially after they made hundreds of millions on that stupid Mobile Diablo game, must’ve felt like a hard kick to the nuts.

[ikarodemon]

The profit sharing-cut is really a problem for the people with lowest salary in this company, but I agree with blizzard when they request the return-to-office. People work much better and evolve more when work in the same place with others.

[Firebird360]

Exactly this. People need to work in groups face to face. Its far more productive that working from home. Far too many distractions working from home.

[Firebird360]

Remote working isn't productive. People are clocking in 40 hours weeks but doing sub 20 hour weeks.
Everything needs to get back to normal.
And if you want a reality check on what actual long hard work looks like, swing by a local construction site.

[nommers]

If anybody is not doing enough work the ones monitoring their level of activity will know.

[Adrian_v01]

What the hell is the last sentence supposed to mean? 😂

[hotnickles]

That demoralizing feeling is just the reality of where you work finally setting in.

[frostypants]

Blizzard used to be among the most loved and respected developers in the industry way, way back when. Then Activision came along and ruined it.

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

Oh Blizzard...once one of the most beloved devs out there. They have truly fallen from grace. Why do they keep making things worse?

[Aggy]

That's an oof.

[DarXyde]

"Game Developer said the reduced profit-sharing plan, which would see workers receiving just 58% of their promised bonus, came as a shock; two weeks ago, Activision Blizzard announced quarterly financial results that it called a kickoff to a “strong financial performance in 2023.”"

That right there. No real explanation provided and Ybarra deflecting by saying "anyone who thinks the execs are getting paid more are living in myth". Weasels. Absolute weasels. They're so damn slimy and don't mention anything about stock options which is extremely common for this class of vermin. So they can deny being paid more while receiving stock options that can be cashed out later. Alternatively, they engage in stock buybacks and artificially inflate their value so their existing stock portfolio increases in value.

[Hofstaderman]

One of two things happening, certain titles did sell as well as anticipated or the acquisition is not going through and the shareholders have to be appeased.

[esherwood]

Honestly seems like they’re always mad, after the huge backlash I’m sure it’s changed a lot there for the better but now the employees are used to bitching and getting their way. Sometimes good leadership means having to be firm. I’ve seen superintendents that let people get away with everything and every time they get walked all over, it’s human nature

[esherwood]

Hopefully the people bitching are really good at their job because if not they’re getting replaced quick. I know if it was my company and i couldn’t get people to show up I’m getting someone that will. You’re getting paid to do crap you don’t want, if it’s not worth it move on but that’s what the jobs asking for. If it’s a good job I would think people would be worried about losing there job to someone more motivated