World of Warcraft Players Organized A Sit-In To Protest Blizzard In Wake Of Lawsuit Allegations

Players in the World of Warcraft have organized an in-game protest in the wake of sexual discrimination allegations levied at Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The protest, organized by role-playing guild Fence Macabre, is seeing players file into the social hub of Oribos to protest Activision Blizzard over the allegations it fostered a "frat boy culture."

The sit-in protest, as reported by Polygon earlier today, saw players pour into the social hub of Oribos on Wyrmrest Accord to protest the MMO developer in the wake of the allegations. According to Polygon's Cass Marshall, the protesters used the occasion to vent frustration with Blizzard employees, or simply to say good-bye to fellow roleplayers as they leave World of Warcraft in protest of the company. 

As part of the sit-in protest, Fence Macabre are raising money for Black Girls Code, a non-profit organization that teaches girls age 7-17 how to code. You can donate here, which as of this writing the RP guild has raised just over $3K in donations.

Fence Macabre encourages all sub-locked players to join us on Thursday July 22nd at 9AM PST at the Idyllia Steps, Oribos. Alliance Anchor: Vicaire-WyrmrestAccordHorde Anchor: Loira-WyrmrestAccordFundraising Campaign: https://t.co/uRVkYZUcSY pic.twitter.com/bl8IaLXVXh

— Fence Macabre Caravan (@fencemacabre) July 22, 2021

Speaking with Polygon, Hinahina Gray, a deputy with the role-playing guild, many of those they spoke to are "undecided" regarding whether they are going to stick with WoW in the wake of the lawsuit.

"Hinahina Gray, a deputy with Fence Macabre and an authenticity reader who provides a Native Hawaiian perspective for media, spoke to Polygon about the protest. “Some people who have joined us are still undecided, debating leaving communities they’ve curated,” she wrote in a Discord message. “It’s never an easy decision to leave such a big emotional investment behind. Most of the people here have cancelled their sub. We wanted to do an in-game protest as it would allow people from all over to sit and join with us. Since we still have the game time, we might as well try to do something with it.”

The lawsuit in question was filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, though the reports didn't start trickling out until late Wednesday evening. The complaint, filed by the State of California, alleges that Activision Blizzard fostered a "frat boy culture" that saw discrimination and harrassment against female employees. Activision Blizzard, for their part, have denied the allegations as well as took issue with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing's investigation in a statement as the news broke last night.