As the gaming industry’s scandals take center stage, a trickle of uneasy sponsors threatens to become a deluge

By Alexander Lee

Gaming may be all the rage among advertisers — but as recent events have shown, there’s a problematic side to the industry that they cannot afford to misjudge.

Over the past few weeks, revelations about Activision Blizzard’s toxic work culture have put the gaming and esports industry into crisis mode. An outpouring of stories from women and minority workers has made it clear that the industry’s issues with harassment and inequity are longstanding and widespread.

Following the allegations, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack — who was accused of failing to address internal reports of sexism and harassment in the State of California lawsuit against the company — stepped down on July 28. However, some experts in the space believe that a more thorough house-cleaning of upper management at the larger corporate developers is necessary to spark genuine change at these companies. Though employee walkouts and player boycotts have drawn attention to the issue, most of the leverage in the situation lies with the controversy-averse brands that sponsor the corporate game developers. Some of Activision Blizzard’s most prominent brand partners have already started placing pressure on the company — a trickle of uneasy sponsors with the potential to become a tidal wave.

Before the controversy, the Overwatch League’s official list of sponsors featured a healthy spread of well-known brands such as T-Mobile, Kellogg’s, State Farm and Coca-Cola. Today, only Coca-Cola remains — and all four of the aforementioned companies have expressed unease with reports about Activision Blizzard’s work culture in statements to Digiday. “We find these allegations troubling and inconsistent with our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion,” said Kellogg’s spokesperson Kris Bahner. “While Activision Blizzard plans to address the challenging issues it faces, we will not be moving forward with any new programs this year, but will continue to review progress made against their plans.”

A visible loss of support from Activision Blizzard’s pre-existing brand partners could make potential new sponsors think twice before committing resources to a potential controversy magnet. “I think brands will put their foot down and say ‘we won’t be able to work with you,’” said Margot Rodde, founder of creative agency WePlay.

The controversy began on July 20, when the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued the corporation following a two-year investigation into its issues with sexual harassment and unequal pay. In response to this lawsuit, indignant Activision Blizzard employees staged a widespread walkout on July 28, and almost 500 workers at Ubisoft signed an open letter pushing Ubisoft management to acknowledge the company’s own issues of misconduct.

Players of Activision Blizzard games have also responded to the controversy, with many refusing to play the company’s games on the day of the walkout. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the company took things more seriously based on the scale of people who didn’t log into a single Activision Blizzard title [on the day of the walkout],” said diversity and inclusion consultant Amanda Stevens. “You saw very low concurrency on Steam, you saw plenty of …read more

Source:: Digiday