As one of the major players in the virtual world industry, Blizzard Entertainment is the name behind popular games and series like Diablo, World of Warcraft. However, this Irvine, California-based company has also been involved in many “scandals” and recently, the company continues to be criticized from employees for the inadequate salary they receive.
According to Bloomberg, in 2019, Blizzard conducted an internal survey, the results of which showed that more than half of the employees here are not satisfied with their salary. The company said at the time that it would work to ensure a fairer salary for employees. However, it seems that the results of this “research” infuriated employees even more. One employee encouraged other employees to share their salary. Most of their salaries increased by less than 10%, much less than they expected after the internal survey.
Wage disparity has become a hot issue in the $150 billion gaming industry. According to Bloomberg, the salary of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in 2019 was $40 million, and that number has increased as Blizzard’s stock appreciates. Last year, the company also paid a $15 million bonus to its then-future chief financial officer, Dennis Durkin. Some developers and engineers can make $100,000 a year, while game testers or customer service representatives are paid the minimum wage. Some former employees here said that they only received a significant salary increase after quitting and joining another company, such as Riot Games.
In internal messages received by Bloomberg, some Blizzard employees said they had to skip meals to collect rent and use the company’s free coffee to suppress hunger. Others eat only oatmeal and skip lunch because they can’t afford food at the company’s canteen. Some people even do not dare to have children because they know that they will not be able to raise and provide for them. That is in stark contrast to the flashy appearance of a large company like Blizzard.
Source link: Blizzard was accused of unfair pay, employees had to skip meals because they couldn’t afford food
– Emergenceingames.com