Xbox boss Phil Spencer has written to staff saying he is “evaluating all aspects” of Xbox’s relationship with Activision Blizzard in light of a damning Wall Street Journal report claiming Activision CEO Bobby Kotick had known about alleged instances of sexual assault and harassment within his company for years, but had failed to fully act upon them.
In an email seen by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier – and later confirmed by Microsoft in a statement to IGN – Spencer told Xbox employees he and the gaming leadership team were “disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions” at Activision Blizzard, and that “this type of behaviour has no place in our industry”.
Spencer added that he was “evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments” in light of the Wall Street Journal’s report.
In response to Spencer’s comments, Activision told IGN, “We respect all feedback from our valued partners and are engaging with them further. We have detailed important changes we have implemented in recent weeks, and we will continue to do so. We are committed to the work of ensuring our culture and workplace are safe, diverse, and inclusive. We know it will take time, but we will not stop until we have the best workplace for our team.”