Well That Wasn’t Very Nice, Activision
The games industry can be rough at times, but issues like systemic sexual harassment and discrimination are often a slow burn, building up over time until it all boils over. Today’s news is unusual, but remains a familiar unpleasantness. Raven Software doesn’t just work on Call of Duty, but it’s their main venture – working closely with Activision in a QA role for Call of Duty: Warzone. But as of today, some of them might not keep that role for much longer, despite implications otherwise.
As you can expect, there were frustrations that needed venting. One of those outlets is posted below:
I am gutted right now. My friends in QA at Raven were promised, for months, that Activision was working towards a pay restructure to increase their wages.
Today, one by one, valuable members of the team were called into meetings and told they were being let go.
— Austin O’Brien (@eyyohbee) December 3, 2021
While an exact number isn’t yet available, we know that the number of affected QA testers is at least 12. Reports indicate that these 12+ people thought they’d get a 1.50$/hour raise after a location change.
But the twitter thread doesn’t stop there. Even more insight is offered, saying:
“These people were asked to relocate to Madison, WI to work here. Now they are out of a job on January 28th. Our QA team does incredible work but this will not only increase their workload but crush morale.”
Layoffs aren’t unheard of in the games industry, Nintendo went through a similar process a while back. And while they’re often a surprise, they rarely come with the extra sting that these Raven Software employees are feeling.
Activision has not yet commented on the situation.