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Why did J Allen Brack resign? Internet says 'Call of Duty' games company needs sacrificial lamb

J Allen Brack's resignation was disclosed in an email to the staff Tuesday, August 3

American video game holding company, Activision Blizzard, which has produced games like 'Call of Duty' to 'Overwatch' was sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing for sexual discrimination and harassment of women. In the latest development, Activision Blizzard President J Allen Brack resigned from his post. His resignation was disclosed in an email to the staff Tuesday, August 3. Blizzard's shares were down more than 4% in the first hour of trading on Tuesday.

According to the lawsuit against the company, it harbours a 'frat boy' culture, which has led to years of harassment and abuse targetting women in the workforce. 'World of Warcraft' developer, Alex Afrasiabi, along with Blizzard president, J Allen Brack were named in the lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on July 20. However, many of the allegations levelled in the lawsuit took place before Brack was named president in 2018.

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J Allen Brack came under the radar after the complaint was filed over his leadership style. A video of Brack at a company event in 2010 resurfaced on social media, that showed him on a panel with colleagues where he 'laughed off' a question from a woman about the sexualization of female characters in the 'World of Warcraft' game. After his resignation, Brack said in a statement that his successors “can be trusted to lead with the highest levels of integrity and commitment to the components of our culture that make Blizzard so special.”

Brack will be replaced by Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra. Oneal, before joining Blizzard as an executive in January, ran an Activision game studio called 'Vicarious Visions'. Ybarra, on the other hand, worked at Microsoft Corp for nearly 20 years and managed Xbox online services before joining Blizzard in 2019.

'Now how about compensation for all the victims of harassment?'

People flooded Twitter with all kinds of reactions over Brack's resignation. While some said this 'won't change anything', some demanded 'compensation for the alleged victims'. One user wrote, '"Good. Now how about compensation for all the victims of harassment?" Another tweeted, "Welp. Unfortunately what will most likely happen is that acti/blizz will be issued a fine and a check will be cut to the state of California and nothing more will happen besides a few "stepping downs" and maybe a firing or two."

One tweet read, "The entire company is infected with people like him. No wonder Blizzard games have no roadmap and no future, because all of them are obviously showing up drunk and harassing fellow female workers." One user commented, "The implication is he not only knew what was going on, but actively covered up Alex Afrasiabi, the head "Cosby Suite" guy among others. It may look symbolic and like PR, but there is a reason why companies choose certain lambs to sacrifice during crisis. Hint: They're guilty." Another user wrote, "The problem is whoever steps up is still from the same team that allowed everything to happen so it’s not really changing anything."