Claims of ‘frat boy’ culture tarnish Blizzard’s successful image

Current and former employees of Blizzard Entertainment relayed incidents to Bloomberg news of getting accosted for dates at the office, being subjected to alcohol-fueled hazing rituals and watching male colleagues use company events as a venue to solicit sex.

One summer day in 2018, employees of the video game maker Blizzard Entertainment opened their email to find a brusque message from the chief executive officer, Mike Morhaime. It said the company parted ways with Ben Kilgore, the chief technology officer and Morhaime’s heir apparent. The email didn’t give a reason, but employees immediately began to gossip. Kilgore presided over the most notorious group of sexist drinkers at the Irvine, California, headquarters, where sexism and drinking were rampant, current and former employees said. Shortly afterward, they got a supposed explanation during a large staff meeting. Derek Ingalls, now head of the technology department, was asked why his former boss had left. Ingalls told a brief story that concluded with a strange piece of advice: “Don’t sleep with your assistant. But if you’re going to sleep with your assistant, don’t stop.” Five people who attended the meeting, which hasn’t been previously reported, recounted versions of that story in interviews with Bloomberg. Also in the room that day was a representative from human resources who stood silently by, they said. Ingalls’s comment led to a barrage of speculation surrounding Kilgore’s departure that Bloomberg has not been able to verify. Regardless, a former Blizzard assistant said this sort of locker room banter was sexist and damaging to the careers of assistants and other women at the company.