It's no secret that the games industry is in a terrible state right now, what with so many scandals rocking so many enormous game publishers. Both Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft have ongoing issues with their toxic work cultures, and while Riot may have settled its lawsuits, its reputation has taken a massive hit.
Although EA isn’t exactly a popular publisher, it’s managed to weather this storm of toxic workplace reports relatively unscathed. And now, a senior EA executive is calling for the removal of games industry "leaders who fall short of basic standards."
In the keynote speech at this year's DICE Summit, EA senior vice president and chief operating officer Laura Miele made powerful statements condemning the general state of the games industry and its leadership.
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"Let's face it, there have been some rough headlines," said Miele (via IGN). "Stories about negligence and lawsuits, all stemming from leaders who failed to uphold standards we've come to expect… Women have been harassed, bullied, marginalized, held back in their careers, paid less, and much, much less.
"These are real stories, real human beings, and this is going on in companies in our industry… We have to have fair and safe work environments, at the very least. This is just basic table stakes."
Although not mentioned by name, Miele's statements seem to reference Activision Blizzard, which has been dealing with weekly headlines ever since the California DFEH issued its lawsuit last summer. Since then, reports have surfaced that Activision's corruption went all the way to the top with CEO Bobby Kotick accused of protecting abusers and even threatening his own staff.
"If companies can't figure this out and fix this burning issue, we don't get to move forward. We don't get to pass go," Miele added. "Leaders who fall short of basic standards must go."
Recent reports of union-busting actions taken by Activision Blizzard have even resulted in political scrutiny. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has said she's "disturbed" by Activision's anti-union activity and called for Kotick to negotiate with union organizers "in good faith."
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