Activision fires dozens over misconduct -report

More than three dozen employees have been shown the door at Activision Blizzard.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the video game developer fired or pushed out the employees to address allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct. It said another 40 employees have been disciplined.

That’s a big increase from the figures it released back in October, when the company disclosed it had fired more than 20 people following allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination, and that 20 more had faced other forms of disciplinary action.

Best known for its “Call of Duty” franchise, Activision had planned to release the summary of these latest actions before the winter holidays. But the Journal, citing sources, said CEO Bobby Kotick held back that report, feeling it could make the company’s workplace problems bigger than has been reported.

The Journal said data compiled by the company show that it has so far reviewed more than 90% of the roughly 700 employee reports it has collected on misconduct and other issues after it was sued by a California state agency over harassment claims.

Activision did not respond to a request for comment.