Overwatch-themed Lego paused amid Activision abuse allegations

The Lego Group has decided not to release a new one Monitoring 2-Lego on the theme set as planned on February 1, stopping the product at least temporarily as the company revises its broader relationship with the struggling game publisher.

In a statement reported by fan sites like Brick game and LeBriqueFan, Lego Group said it “is currently reviewing our partnership with Activision Blizzard, given concerns about progress being made in addressing persistent allegations regarding workplace culture, particularly the treatment of female colleagues and the creation of a diverse and inclusive environment “. As this review continues, the company has announced that it will “pause” the planned release of the 76980-themed set. Monitoring 2 Titan, who was first leak last month. It is currently unclear how long this “hiatus” will last or if the set will see a possible release given the review of Lego’s internal partnership.

The partnership between Monitoring and Lego dates back to 2018 and encompasses nearly a dozen sets and building kits on the theme of the characters and scenes of the game. Activision Blizzard separately signed a deal with Hasbro in 2018 for the exclusive licensing rights of Overwatch toys, among many other brand licensing agreements for the popular game.

Words against actions

Lego is not the first organization to change its relationship with Activision following widespread allegations of abuse and sexual harassment that have surrounded the company for months now. In November, the nonprofit Girls Who Code announced that it was ending its partnership with the company, writing that “the news from Activision proves that our priorities are fundamentally misaligned.” The Game Awards also said last month that Activision Blizzard “will not be part of” the 2021 awards show, although it is unclear how involved the publisher was prior to this statement (and the chairman of ‘Activision Blizzard, Rob Kostich still sits on the Game Awards Advisory Board).

Still, Lego’s move matters, as it highlights Activision’s first licensing deal to show signs of tension amid the company’s very public struggles. These types of moves could have a small but direct impact on Activision’s bottom line, which in turn could impact the board. so far strong support for beleaguered CEO Bobby Kotick. More than that, the move shows how other important parts of the corporate world are starting to question whether Activision’s current public image is too toxic to associate with.

Although all three of the major console makers have issued vague statements mentioning “action” and “concern” regarding their relationship with Activision, there have been no public details of how those relationships may have changed.

In an interview with the New York Times this weekMicrosoft Xbox chief Phil Spencer said Microsoft has “changed the way we do certain things with [Activision], and they are aware of it. He later hinted that “the things we choose to do with our brand and our platform, in coordination or not with other companies, are the means by which we need to have an impact,” suggesting that business cross-marketing relationships may have changed.

At the same time, Spencer said he “would rather help other companies than try to punish” and that “it is obviously not our position to judge who are the CEOs” of other companies.

“Any partner out there, if I can learn from them or if I can help the journey we’ve been on Xbox by sharing what we’ve done and what we’ve built, I’d much rather do that instead.” than getting into any sort of commotion with other businesses that exist, ”he added.

Today’s news comes more than a month after a group of Activision Blizzard employees announced an indefinite strike to protest the dismissal of 12 quality assurance contractors from the Raven Software subsidiary. This strike has continued until 2022 as the organizers complained a lack of commitment from the management of the company.