Shareholders call on Activision Blizzard CEO to resign after employee walkout

Video game company faces shareholder rebellion after workers protest against the response to sexual misconduct allegations

The embattled boss of the video game company Activision Blizzard is facing a shareholder rebellion one day after employees staged a walkout to protest about the company's response to sexual misconduct allegations at the firm.

In contrast to past company statements, CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of many incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender discrimination at Activision Blizzard, but failed either to ensure that the executives and managers responsible were terminated or to recognize and address the systematic nature of the company's hostile workplace culture," a group of shareholders, led by the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) Investment Group and holding a total of 4.8m shares, wrote in a letter shared on Wednesday with the Washington Post.