Activision has launched a fresh legal front in its ongoing battle against the State of California, which has been suing the Call of Duty publisher over reports of workplace misconduct and sexual harassment since the summer of 2021.
In response, Activision has now filed its own lawsuit against California’s recently-renamed Civil Rights Department (CRD) – the same agency currently trying to sue Activision – over claims the department has taken too long with its own case and not been transparent over its connections with the media and labour unions (thanks, Axios).
Activision is now asking a judge to force the CRD (previously the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, or DFEH) to produce various internal documents. These include details of the department’s discussions with the Communication Workers of America, the union which has been repeatedly in the headlines this year for helping organise games industry QA staff (including several teams at Activision).
The new lawsuit also asks for details of the CRD’s internal concerns over its long-running Activision investigation.
“No state agency is above the law, especially one charged with enforcing it” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Axios.
Activision’s long-running legal issues began after numerous reports of workplace misconduct came to light.
In its lawsuit against California’s Civil Rights Department, Activision claims the CRD “deliberately unleashed a hurricane of hostile media coverage against the company based on malicious and knowingly false assertions. It also worked with activists who contributed to the CRD’s media war”.
This isn’t the first time Activision has hit back at the claims being investigated by the State of California – nor the first time it has suggested these allegations were designed to catch the media’s attention.
In June, Activision blasted California’s lawsuit, saying it contained “highly inflammatory, made-for-press allegations”. Activision’s own internal investigation into the claims turned up “no widespread harassment”.
