Activision "will not be a part of this year's The Game Awards" Claims Host Geoff Keighley

Activision isnt exactly on Santas Nice List right now. From harassment allegations to firing employees after promising raises, many are looking at them as a company in need of reprimand, not celebration. And yet, its not terribly clear what stance this years The Game Awards will actually be taking.

Initially, The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley said that the show will not take a hard stance on the controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard. At the time, he explained that they show it meant to celebrate the hardworking developers, and they didnt want to take that away from them.

For those who might not have known, Activision Blizzard was recently outed for allowing years of severe abuse, harassment, and discrimination to take place within the company. It was severe enough to warrant a lawsuit in California, allowing more folks to step forward with their own personal experiences at the company. This led to several other organizations, from other publishers to various gaming news outlets to publicly condemn the publisher. The ire was worsened when just recently, the company fired an entire third of their QA department after promising the employees that pay raises were coming following a restructuring.

Many folks saw Keighleys remarks as an indication that Activision would be a major sponsor of the event, using the tremendously popular showcase to promote games like Call of Duty. Generally, when people dont choose sides in an event where one is clearly in the wrong, its an indirect indication that theyre choosing the side in the wrong.

Keighley, not long later, responded to these claims, clarifying on how active the company will be at the event in a Twitter thread.

Beyond its nominations, I can confirm that Activision|Blizzard will not be a part of this years #TheGameAwards

#TheGameAwards is a time of celebration for this industry, the biggest form of entertainment in the world.

There is no place for abuse, harassment or predatory practices in any company or any community.

I also realize we have a big platform which can accelerate and inspire change. We are committed to that, but we all need to work together to build a better and a more inclusive environment so everyone feels safe to build the worlds best games.

All of us are accountable to this standard.

Incredible games and the talented developers who build them are who we want to celebrate.

See you on Thursday.

We assume that Keighley is being honest. At the very least, him making this statement is better than nothing. Currently, there are two Activision games on the nomination list. Call of Duty: Warzone is listed for Best Ongoing Game, and Call of Duty is on the nomination for best eSports game.

The last few years now, The Game Awards have felt more like a glorified promotional advertising event than an actual award show. Sketchy behavior for well paying publishers wouldnt be too surprising. So all of this considered, its hard to be trusting that they actually mean what they say and arent just trying to appease the masses. Either way, You can check out The Game Awards Thursday, December 9.