Activision Blizzard’s controversial phase continues with its struggles to cope with sexual harassment cases and allegations of stopping QA workers from unionizing under the name of Game Workers Alliance. The studio has appointed a new diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) chief officer to deal with these issues. 

Kristen Hines is appointed in that role and said in a press release that she is “excited to join a company that is prioritizing its commitment to DEI and making progress on the ambitious goals it has set for itself.” One of those said goals is to meet the commitment of Activision Blizzard to increase the percentage of women and non-binary people at the studio by 50% in the next five years.

Currently, 24% of the workforce consists of women at Activision Blizzard. The DEI department certainly needs to step up and solve problems at the helm. It was recent news that Blizzard co-CEO Jen Oneal left three months into her new role because she was not offered equal wages as her male counterpart, Mike Ybarra.

Kristen Hines is an experienced DE&I officer who was previously at Accenture. She’ll be tasked with hitting the aforementioned diversity goals which will also include the representation of diverse characters within future games as well. Hines added in her statement that “in an industry with historical underrepresentation, I’m looking forward to leading the company’s efforts to further build a workplace that values transparency, equity and inclusivity.”

Vicarious Visions drops its name to merge with Blizzard Entertainment

Despite workplace controversies, Activision Blizzard continues to expand and add more studios under its umbrella. Vicarious Visions, the team behind Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 remake, has fully merged with Blizzard Entertainment, as per a statement on Tuesday. The team would focus entirely on Blizzard Entertainment games from now on. 

 

 

The full merger means the studio will no longer be a separate development studio and has lost its name and branding that was created 31 years ago. The merger process began back in October 2021 and has now been finalized. Vicarious Visions was sold to Activision in 2005 and is popularly known for developing Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy as well.