Following the news that Activision Blizzard is being sued by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, for allegedly fostering a company “frat boy” culture that subjects female employees to unequal pay and sexual harassment, hundreds of World of Warcraft players have now staged a virtual sit-in protest in the MMO.
First reported by Polygon, the sit-in protest was organized by a role-playing guild called Fence Macabre. The group is also using the sit-in to raise money for Black Girls Code, a not-for-profit organization that provides education in various forms of tech for young women of color, including game design.
Image Credit: @Skoll_Shorties on Twitter“We as customers and members of this community protest the unethical treatment of employees at Activision Blizzard, and demand that they make transparent lasting changes to their company and associated IPs,” Fence Macabre said in a Twitter post. “We stand with the victims and survivors of Blizzard’s racism and abuse.”
The sit-in protest is being held at the Idyllia Steps of Oribos, the central player hub of the recent Shadowlands expansion.
“I’ve seen mostly an outpouring of support for the victims and survivors of this lawsuit,” said Hinahina Gray, a deputy of Fence Macabre and an authenticity reader that provides Native Hawaiian insight for games, literature, and other media. “It’s incredibly encouraging and heartwarming to know that even though various things may divide us on the way each of us interacts with World of Warcraft, we are still ultimately tied together in a community which believes in being the greater good.”
In the spirit of not supporting Activision Blizzard financially, many of the protestors showing up to the protest are “sub-locked,” which means that their World of Warcraft account has pre-paid playtime remaining on their account.
“Using sub-locked accounts to take up server space and demonstrate together is definitely something we know was the right move to make,” Hinahina added. “We are here, and present, and informing people who come across us in-game and we’ve raised almost $3800.00 for Black Girls CODE. We’re doing something tangible here, and it’s good.”
Numerous players and fellow guilds voiced their support for the protest on Twitter.
Made my way over to this, making a personal post for once to stand out against the disgusting actions of Activison/Blizzard#Warcraft I encourage other people who love this game and respect the victims to do the same, if they can. https://t.co/HU9BDzJMDc pic.twitter.com/b9Oj35H43x
— Boyd Bear (@Meawbear) July 22, 2021
The Sit-in Begins. There are too many faces I recognize to name you all but I love you all and am proud to start the sit-in with you. pic.twitter.com/HrabRPjgLB
— Vixvox3 – Commissions Open (@Vixvox3) July 22, 2021
The Sanguine Order is out here supporting the sit-in today! https://t.co/jtqRW9UUcz pic.twitter.com/xnCX0y7YLs
— The Sanguine Order (@Sanguine_Order) July 22, 2021
so many people doing the sit-ins (i’m beind a banner) https://t.co/izDP90k5Bx pic.twitter.com/16YYgRTBJr
— Deaf Owly ??️? Open for Art Commissions (@Avaltor05) July 22, 2021
As of Thursday afternoon, the protest has raised $3,700 for Black Girls Code.
It’s likely that some WoW players, including Thursday’s protestors, will feel conflicted about continuing to play the popular MMO.
“It’s definitely bittersweet for a lot of us. Even if we have our support systems in real life, there is very much something to having that connection through a shared and common interest,” Hinahina added. “It’s difficult, but our commitment will carry us through. We’re all connected through this now, no matter where we go in life or if we grow apart, we curated this moment and that matters.”
You can read IGN’s report on the Activision Blizzard lawsuit here. The lawsuit alleges various accounts of sexual harassment aimed at female employees, including one incident regarding a female employee who took their own life.
The lawsuit is asking for an injunction that will force Activision Blizzard to comply with workplace protections, deliver unpaid wages, pay adjustments, back pay, and lost wages and benefits for female employees.
Activision Blizzard later released a lengthy statement denying the allegations, stating the lawsuit is the work of “unaccountable State bureaucrats.”
Joseph Knoop is a freelance reporter for IGN.
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