Activision Blizzard is being taken to court over allegations of sexual harassment, unequal pay and discrimination against its female employees.

The games giant has been under investigation for two years over claims of toxic culture, with female employees describing a litany of unacceptable behaviours.

According to the claim put forward, employees have described the cultivation of an internal “frat-boy culture” at Activision Blizzard by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

“Female employees almost universally confirmed that working for Defendants (Activision Blizzard) was akin to working in a frat house, which invariably involved male employees drinking and subjecting female employees to sexual harassment with no repercussion,” the DFEH alleged.

“Cube crawls” in Defendants’ offices were common and male employees proudly came into work hungover. Similarly, male employees would play video games during work, engage in banter about their sexual encounters, talk openly about female bodies, and make numerous jokes about rape.”

Women working at the firm make up only 20% of the 9,500 staff employed there and earn less than their male counterparts. Females are also not present in managerial positions, which are held exclusively by white men.

DFEH’s investigation found that women of colour were particularly discriminated against, while “numerous” formal complaints were supposedly dismissed and not kept confidential.

This created a toxic environment, where female employees who complained were subject to retaliation, including being deprived of work on projects, unwilling transferals and selection for layoffs.

Sexual harassment and unacceptable behaviour, according to the claim, even drove one female employee to take her own life whilst on a business trip.

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In response to the claims, over 20 current Activision Blizzard employees have publicly criticised the firm’s response to the sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit. Some developers also refused to work in solidarity with the women that came forward.

Activision Blizzard hit back, calling the complaint “distorted” and “in many cases, false.” The company said the accusations did not reflect the workplace “of today.”

In separate comments, Blizzard co-founder and former president and CEO Mike Morhaime said: “I have read the full complaint against Activision Blizzard and many of the other stories. It is all very disturbing and difficult to read.

“I am ashamed. It feels like everything I thought I stood for has been washed away. What’s worse but even more important, real people have been harmed, and some women had terrible experiences.”

He added: “The fact that so many women were mistreated and were not supported means we let them down. In addition, we did not succeed in making it feel safe for people to tell their truth.

“It is no consolation that other companies have faced similar challenges. I wanted us to be different, better.”

This is later than it should have been. Here’s my response. pic.twitter.com/0h8iF6a1JR

— Chris Metzen (@ChrisMetzen) July 24, 2021

In a message on Twitter, Diablo co-creator Chris Metzen, former senior vice president of story and franchise development at Activision, said he was sorry, and that Activision Blizzard “had failed”.

News of the complaint comes weeks after similar accusations of workplace mistreatment at Scottish beer brewing firm BrewDog.

Former staff of the company wrote an open letter in June making similar claims, and accusing BrewDog of a “toxic attitude” and making staff work under a “culture of fear.”

In response, BrewDog owner James Watt announced staff pay rises across the organisation and the implementation of other changes.

New developments in the Activision Blizzard allegations.

News of the sexual harassment claims against Activision Blizzard remains fluid, and responses to the allegations continue to emerge.

Today (July 27th) around 1,000 employees at the firm signed an open letter stating that Activision Blizzard’s response to the sexual harassment claims is “abhorrent and insulting”.

The firm has denied claims brought forward by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, but this latest employee letter insists that the company’s denials damage the “quest for equality”.