Call of Duty - Activision greed

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4222544-brave-new-activision-blizzard
Is Activision betting on the EA business model?
Unfortunately, it seems that Activision is adopting the Electronic Arts (EA) business model. Activision used to focus on building franchises and quality games, which translated into profits. However, Activision saw the profit potential of in-game microtransactions and subscriptions. As a result, ATVI is starting to resemble EA. The problem is that gamers hate having to pay several times for the same game (microtransactions and subscriptions).

“You would’ve thought Blizzard was going under and we had no money,” said a former Blizzard staffer, who told me they left the company this year in part because of Activision’s influence. “The way every little thing was being scrutinized from a spend perspective. That’s obviously not the case. But this was the very first time I ever heard, ‘We need to show growth.’ That was just so incredibly disheartening for me.”

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has a real knack for words: At a recent conference in San Francisco he said that one of his goals when he became head of the company was to "take all the fun out of making videogames."

https://twitter.com/ZerinaX/status/1120380097503072256
Christina Mikkonen @ZerinaX
22. apr.
Reminder that two months ago, Blizzard laid off a significant number of people. Many of them are my colleagues and friends who are STILL looking for work. Some of them have been forced to uproot their families and move out of state.

As a punch in the gut to these people, Blizzard is rehiring for some of the exact positions they were laid off from.
Not only is this incredibly shameful and downright embarrassing, virtually no one is calling them out on this.
Know your worth and don’t be fooled by #passion.

To those of you retweeting these “job openings” that work at Blizzard and were there during the layoffs AND got to keep your job, shame on you for enabling this behavior.
You don’t speak out about this because you want to keep your job, I get that. But at least have some grace.

To the Blizzard people filtering into my DMs in agreement, I understand. I know if they say anything on social media or even interact with my post, it can come back to bite them in the ass. Just remember to always look out for yourself, because a company will not.

Last word: To any current employees still using #BleedBlue or #lifeatblizzard unironically and have friends that were affected by the layoffs, let that privilege flow through you. People you KNOW stay awake at night wondering how they are going to pay rent. Disgraceful.

As this blew up a bit, I would like to suggest supporting @GameWorkers with a follow and stay aware of what is going on in the games industry.

Obviously the new hires will be getting paid less.
And yes, a corp that lays off 800 people in a record setting financial year did what I would consider “bad”. This isn’t about keeping a struggling company afloat. This is about acknowledging that it is a system rife with abuse.

Jump back to quoted post24 Apr 2019, 08:41 AMSturmtigerCobra

New Activision Blizzard greed exposed in re-hiring practices and cost-cutting initiatives.

Former BLIZZARD Employee Calls Them Out Over Dodgy Hiring Practices:

"Building up the Hearthstone community and global communications efforts these past six years."

Christina Mikkonen, 1. jul. 2019
‏@ZerinaX
Really Blizzard? You laid off your entire HS community team and left it in shambles. Other CMs you laid off are still looking for work (not me) and you post this? SHAMEFUL. SHAME ON YOU.
REHIRE THE PEOPLE YOU LAID OFF THAT ARE STILL LOOKING FOR JOBS
HOW HARD IS THIS
I would like to thank everyone that interacted with this post. It’s difficult to bring awareness to issues when things are constantly swept under the rug or when people pretend like it doesn’t exist.
The game industry needs to change.
LMAO it’s literally a three person role all mashed together. Any sane person with experience would take one look at this and nope out.
I’ve only missed one BlizzCon. WoW was a part of my life for years. I never thought I would think this way about Blizzard.
It is a very hard area of expertise to be in right now. The value of communication outside of influencer marketing seems to be getting lower overall.
People are afraid, I don’t blame them. Being outspoken on social media can lead to them not finding employment elsewhere.
The last remaining Global CM just quit, what a mess.

Ironically enough, this is a pretty Blizz standard way of solving problems. Get rid of it and don’t say anything ... and it doesn’t exist!

A reminder to those in gaming that follow me, unionize.
Follow @GameWorkers

https://twitter.com/ZerinaX/status/1146623077913989120
Christina Mikkonen
‏@ZerinaX
I don’t blame the devs. They want to make games people enjoy. My stance isn’t a black and white OMG I hate everything about Blizz; I don’t. I just disagree with many of their business decisions that come at the cost of people’s livelihood.

https://twitter.com/itsLashes/status/1146508404581474304
Bethany ✨ Lashes
‏@itsLashes
Just a reminder that there are STILL hundreds of us that are without jobs, myself included.
Last night I had a dream that I got my badge back & was happily working on my projects. It's clear that no matter how hard I try to feel better, the pain still lingers.
Hugs to the 800

https://twitter.com/Onescrappyninja/status/1146588859918159872
Melissa Livingston
‏@Onescrappyninja
retweetet Christina Mikkonen
This is happening all over Blizzard . My hubby was interviewing people the day he was let go. Now they are hiring for his old job. It’s messed up!!!! So nice to do to someone with special needs children. ( 4 kids at the time and a prego wife )

https://twitter.com/akaWrecks/status/1146583360384438272
@akaWrecks
Years ago was called about a systems engineer gig I didn’t apply for by a recruiter but went though the interview process because fuck yeah blizzard. Offered the job and when I said I will not move to Irvine for 40% market salary and no relo, they just said “someone else will”.
And I’m sure someone did. And that’s why they will keep doing it to people.
I see companies do this so often. Rehiring for less than previous employees or contractors they can dump when they want and allows them to manipulate budgets because they don’t count as headcount.