Stack ranking, a mandatory return to office, reduced profit sharing, and a general impression of executives being out of touch has caused Blizzard Entertainment employees to feel outraged and demoralized following the company's recent all-hands meeting. This meeting was meant to address the emerging dissatisfaction when Blizzard developers were told to return to office work, but the rift between management and employees only grew larger.
President Mike Ybarra and other executives at Blizzard spoke to employees over Zoom during the all-hands meeting, addressing the concerns they had regarding toxic workplace practices, as well as the end of the company's work-from-home policy. The responses they had regarding these pre-screened questions caused significant distress among the attendees, as Mike Ybarra is said to have compared the salaries of executives to the rank-and-file employees. Moreover, he defended Blizzard's decision to reduce the annual profit-sharing bonuses in spite of a strong quarter, and implied that the quality assurance and customer service roles were not "long-term disciplines" at the company.
Following the all-hands meeting, many employees at Blizzard Entertainment took to social media platforms such as Twitter to vent about the tone-deaf nature of the meeting, as well as the stressful and demoralizing policies still perpetuated within the company. As reported by GameDeveloper from several sources, the comment that caused the most anger was when Ybarra stated the following: "If you think that executives are making a lot of money, and you aren't, you're living in a myth."
The context for Ybarra's statement relates to the fact that both executives and employees alike were affected by the profit sharing cuts, but many would argue that the salary of executives does not compare to developer and lower-rank employee salaries. Another major point of contention among attendees has been Ybarra's defense of the company's stack ranking policy. Those who work in tech have long argued that it's a toxic and ineffective method to boost productivity, and Microsoft – the future parent company of Activision Blizzard – banned the practice back in 2013.
As the internal tensions rising at Blizzard are brought into the public eye, many fans are worried that it will impact their favorite franchises. Dragonflight is considered the best World of Warcraft expansion since Legion by many, and it's an expansion that was largely built by developers working from home. Between the surging living costs in Irvine, and the simple fact that Blizzard can still deliver without requiring its employees to come to the office, both developers and players alike are left with the impression that the company's top brass is out of touch.
Ultimately, the Q&A hosted by Blizzard executives has shaken the faith of its employees who wanted to believe that Blizzard Entertainment was on track to grow out its image presented in the State of California lawsuit. One thing remains certain: if Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, it will take a lot of effort for the company to return to normalcy.
Source: GameDeveloper