Overwatch 2 LEGO set suspended due to Activision Blizzard controversy
An Overwatch 2 LEGO set, depicting the fight between Mei and Tracer against a mechanical Titan shown in the reveal of the hero-shooter sequel, has been delayed indefinitely by the LEGO Company.
Overwatch 2 has been a source of ongoing discussion for a lot of reasons – the change of gunslinger McCree’s name to Cassidy, the release date, etc – but that all pales in comparison with the ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged toxic workplace culture surrounding Activision Blizzard.
Activision Blizzard has been mired by controversy since last July, and it has only progressively gotten worse over time with reports of misconduct towards female employees, such as sexual harassment and misogynistic abuse. Allegedly, there were also cases of some Activision Blizzard employees playing games of ‘gay chicken’ – a ‘game’ where “men would be encouraged to grab their male colleagues genitals and the first person to do so would win.”
To make matters worse, despite CEO Bobby Kotick claiming to be committed to changing Activision Blizzard, a report from Wall Street Journal detailed that not only had Kotick known sexual misconduct was rampant in his company, but he (among a great number of other things) had even threatened an assistant’s life before settling the complaint out of court.
If Kotick’s behaviour wasn’t bad enough, the CEO of Activision Blizzard’s name is also present in pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘little black book’, obtained in full via Gawker.
With such a climate surrounding Activision Blizzard, it is no surprise that the LEGO company has decided to take action against this. Thanks to TheBrickFan, we know that the LEGO Company are currently reviewing their relationship with Activision Blizzard.
“We are currently reviewing our partnership with Activision Blizzard, given concerns about the progress being made to address continuing allegations regarding workplace culture, especially the treatment of female colleagues and creating a diverse and inclusive environment. While we complete the review, we will pause the release of a LEGO Overwatch 2 product which was due to go on sale on February 1, 2022.”
The Overwatch 2 LEGO set will be delayed indefinitely until LEGO completes its review.
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