Activision Blizzard annual report says it’s struggling to attract and retain talent

The company suggests that problems may be due to recent litigation and bad press.

Image via Activision

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Activision Blizzard stated that it’s struggling to attract new talent and retain skilled employees, according to a recent annual report first spotted by Axios. In the report, the company suggested that lawsuits pertaining to sexual assaults, discrimination and harassment of female employees allegations investigations as well as “the media attention” had an “adverse effect” to recruit and keep employees.

Even with its labor problems, the company reported having 9,800 employees by the end of 2021 which is up from 9,500 from the year before. The company does note that it has seen “a significantly higher turnover rate of [the company’s] human resources function in 2021.”

The report also reveals that 82% of the company’s revenue accounts for three of its franchises — Call of Duty, Candy Crush and Warcraft. This is a 3% increase from last year but no other franchise is bringing in 10% of the company’s revenue.

Earlier this year, Activision Blizard was acquired by Microsoft for $68.7 billion, which is expected to be finalized sometime during Microsoft’s 2023 fiscal year. Until then, the Call of Duty publisher continues to come under fire after Raven Software leadership has been accused of trying to disrupt QA staff’s unionization with Communication Workers of America as “Game Workers Alliance.”