Videogame Giant Denies Reports That CEO Bobby Kotick Hid Sexual Assault Allegations

Video game industry giant Activision Blizzard denied reports on Tuesday that CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of serious allegations of sexual assault and misconduct at his company over the years.

The accusations against Kotick, CEO for the company since 1991, emerged in a Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The article claimed that Kotick was aware of serious sexual assault allegations within the company, despite publically claiming he was unaware of most of them and worked to keep the board in the dark.

In particular, the Journal cited an email sent to Kotick in 2018 in which a lawyer threatened legal action against Activision Blizzard on behalf of their client, a former employee of subsidiary Sledgehammer Games who accused a male supervisor of raping her in 2016 and 2017. The employee also accused the company's human resources department of taking no action after she reported the incidents. Activision Blizzard later settled with the employee out of court, though the terms of the settlement are currently unknown,

Newsweek could not independently verify the emails cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Activision Blizzard responded to the report on the same day it was published, denying that Kotick's inaction on any allegations he was aware of and emphasizing the company's efforts to improve its policies in the wake of the bombshell allegations against it.

"We are disappointed in the Wall Street Journal's report, which presents a misleading view of Activision Blizzard and our CEO," the statement read. "Instances of sexual misconduct that were brought to his attention were acted upon. The WSJ ignores important changes underway to make this the industry's most welcoming and inclusive workplace and it fails to account for the efforts of thousands of employees who work hard every day to live up to their—and our—values.

"The constant desire to be better has always set this company apart. Which is why, at Mr. Kotick's direction, we have made significant improvements, including a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate conduct. And it is why we are moving forward with unwavering focus, speed, and resources to continue increasing diversity across our company and industry and to ensure that every employee comes to work feeling valued, safe, respected, and inspired. We will not stop until we have the best workplace for our team."

Activision Blizzard told the Wall Street Journal that Kotick "reasonably be expected to have been updated on all personnel issues." The company board also told the outlet that Kotick never attempted to downplay the issue of workplace misconduct and kept it "informed at all times with respect to the status of regulatory matters."