The CEO of Activision Blizzard was recently asked in an interview regarding the effects of working from home have had on the progress of their game developments. The upper management personnel has responded there is no confirmed expected outcome or repercussions as of the moment.
The game developer company has responded to the coronavirus outbreak with a work-from-home policy for all its employees, and have given them plenty of benefits and additional support to make the transition easier and smoother.
A company that cares about its employees
One such move by Activision is Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, giving his phone number to 10,000 employees. The upper echelon noted the staff could use this to contact him directly should they have any concerns regarding their health or if they have any questions about the situation of the company.
The CEO said a month ago that they sent out a message from his email address, which included his phone number. And that it was going as good as they could've hoped for so far.
When he was asked how many of the employees have already contacted him, he answered "a few hundred" that reached out to him.
Kotick shared they will be providing their employees with mental health support and child care providers if they are deemed necessary. Activision will also be paying for technical upgrades for its employees, such as their broadband internet.
The company has also provided clinical trials at the University of California, Los Angeles, to give a cheaper and widely available anti-viral medication if any symptoms of COVID-19 are felt. This is in parallel with the company's support for the study of a new blood serum test.
A dark past?
Kotick has had his issues; however, as Kotaku reported, the CEO made a whopping 306 times the median salary of Activision Blizzard employees in 2017. And last year, despite announcing 2019 was a "record year," he revealed the company would be laying off more than 800 workers. The incident was described as a "bloodbath" by one employee.
This time around, though, it looks like Activision is making it up to their employees by supporting them through the crisis. But working from home has had its effects on the development of games.
Bobby Kotick suggested nobody wins in a scenario like this. Still, at the same time, their games are being played by more and more people ever since the implementation of the lockdown procedures.
He shared they were very fortunate as they have just launched a new free-to-play Call of Duty a couple of weeks ago that led to over 50 million users signing up to play the game. Kotick also noted Candy Crush is doing fantastic, similar to other games that have seen a surge of active players. Activision is satisfied knowing their games are helping people live somewhat more comfortably even though the effects of the virus has caused nearly everyone to stay indoors.
