The Sexual Harassment Case That's Blown the Lid Off of Video Games' "Frat Boy" Work Culture

The company behind some of the biggest video games in the world is facing intense scrutiny after California regulators filed a lawsuit on July 20 alleging that it has fostered an intensely sexist workplace culture. The state's Department of Fair Employment and Housing is suing Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty and Warcraft, following a two-year investigation in which it allegedly discovered evidence that women at the company perpetually face professional and personal discrimination. The disturbing examples span everything from pay imbalances and a glass ceiling to a drunken office culture wherein rape jokes and unwanted advances go unpunished. The company quickly denied the allegations in the lawsuit, but the scandal is snowballing. Both current and former executives have reacted with horror at the investigation, and a growing number of Activision Blizzard employees have shared their own troubling experiences working at the publisher--experiences that echo similar stories of discrimination at other major video game companies.