Following protests last week over sexual harassment claims, today Activision Blizzard Inc.’s President left the company, followed by the head of human resources.

The walkout last week came after the game publishing giant was sued by the state of California for allowing a culture of sexual harassment to permeate the company. Prior to that, a number of employees had said that Activision fosters a “frat boy” culture in a company where the vast majority of staff are men.

Over 2,600 employees signed a letter that asked for a number of changes to be made at the company, but it was Activision’s denial of the allegations at first that really rankled some of the employees. Chief Executive Bobby Kotick subsequently tried to make things right, but it seems the damage had already been done.

Today, company President J. Allen Brack said he will be stepping down to pursue new opportunities. Brack is mentioned in the lawsuit, accused of not taking “effective remedial measures” when matters of sexual harassment and discrimination were put in front of him.

Brack will be replaced by Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra, in an effort to move Activision in “a new direction.” Oneal joined the company at the start of 2021 as executive vice president of development, while Ybarra, a former Xbox executive, was hired in 2019 as Activision’s executive vice president and general manager of platform and technology.

“I am confident that Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will provide the leadership Blizzard needs to realize its full potential and will accelerate the pace of change,” Brack said in a statement. “I anticipate they will do so with passion and enthusiasm and that they can be trusted to lead with the highest levels of integrity and commitment to the components of our culture that make Blizzard so special.”

Also out of the door is Activision’s head of global human resources, Jesse Meschuk. No reason has been given for the departure, although in the lawsuit it is claimed that the human resources department “actively shielded” some employees when accusations had been made against them.

In an earnings call today, Kotick doubled down on earlier statements, saying, “There is no place at our company where discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind will be tolerated.” The company announced $2.3 billion in revenue, up 19% from the same time last year.

Photo: Gordon Tarpley/Flickr