Sexual harassment lawsuit against Activision Blizzard to be settled for $18 million

The saga of Activision Blizzard’s mistreatment of its employees has been unfolding for some time. A lawsuit alleging sexual harassment was followed by an employee walkout in summer 2021, and that lawsuit is now being settled.

As The Washington Post reports, an $18 million settlement has been approved by US District Judge Dale Fischer. “Our goal has always been to provide immediate and meaningful compensation to eligible employees who choose to participate and to continue workplace improvements that make Activision Blizzard a model for our industry,” the company said in a statement to WaPo. That “eligible employees” phrasing is very telling — Activision Blizzard initially tried to get temporary workers excluded from the lawsuit, though that was quickly thrown out of the case.

Furthermore, $18 million sounds like a significant amount on paper, but it’s a pittance, relatively speaking. Remember that Xbox is set to acquire the company for nearly $70 billion dollars. Taking that as the value of the company, quick math tells us that the $18 million settlement is roughly .026% of Activision Blizzard’s total worth. In other words, the sexual harassment penalty equals about a quarter of one percent of the company.

That’s a disappointing comparison to be sure. Perhaps things will be different with the other damning lawsuit that was just filed — this one also alleges sexual harassment. Although after one employee apparently took her own life as a result of Activision Blizzard’s “frat boy” culture, no monetary value seems sufficient.