New York (AFP)

The American video game publisher Activision Blizzard, in the midst of a storm after being accused of allowing discrimination and harassment within the company, announced Tuesday a slight reshuffle within the management.

The head of the subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment, Allen Brack, will leave the group "to pursue new opportunities", said in a letter to employees the director of operations, Daniel Alegre, without giving more justifications.

He is replaced with immediate effect by Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra, he added, highlighting the "leadership", "empathy" and "unwavering sense of responsibility" of the two new leaders.

Mr. Brack had worked for the company for 15 years and had held various management roles.

He was also directly named in a complaint filed at the end of July by an agency of the State of California charged with investigating civil law cases, accusing the creator of the blockbuster "Call of Duty" of having allowed him to settle. a sexist and toxic culture.

Management initially sought to dismiss the charges detailed in the complaint en bloc, angering many employees, who signed a petition en masse and went on strike last week.

About 200 people also gathered in peace outside the headquarters of Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, California on July 28.

The management had initially said that the accusations "do not represent the working environment of Activision Blizzard today".

Following strong reactions, she promised immediate measures and layoffs within the group.

- "Boys club" -

The video game industry is regularly shaken by scandals, this sector being often considered as an environment dominated by a male corporate culture, where sexist abuses and inappropriate behavior are frequent.

The French company Ubisoft, for example, was splashed last year by multiple revelations about the sexist and violent behavior of several of its executives.

In addition to accusations of sexism and discrimination, the California agency behind the lawsuit blames Activision for failing to properly handle complaints from employees to human resources or to officials, including to by Mr. Brack.

"An employee complained to (the head of Blizzard Entertainment) in early 2019 that team members were leaving due to sexual harassment and sexism," it is detailed in the complaint.

In a letter sent last week to employees, CEO Bobby Kotick assured that the group would "immediately assess the managers and leaders of the company."

"Anyone who interfered with the integrity of our complaints and sanctions assessment process will be terminated" because, he asserted, "there is nowhere in our business for discrimination, harassment or treatment. uneven of any kind ".

Other measures presented by the boss of Activision Blizzard also included the recruitment of a law firm to assess the company's policy on inclusion and the promise of more diverse hires in the company.

Women currently represent around 20% of employees.

The women interviewed "almost all confirmed that working for (Activision) was equivalent to working in a + boys club +", "invariably involving men drinking alcohol and subjecting women to sexual harassment without consequences for them", details again the text of the complaint which had been filed on July 20 in the Superior Court of Los Angeles.

© 2021 AFP