Activision Blizzard to implement employee return-to-office mandate

Employees to return to office from spring 2023

Activision Blizzard has confirmed reports that it is mandating a partial return-to-office stipulation for all of its employees from spring of this year. ABK employees will be expected to return to their workplace in April, while Blizzard workers will return in July. King staff returned back in July 2022.

The new mandate, which requests all employees attend their offices for at least three days a week, was first reported by VGC, who noted that disgruntled employees had leaked the news to social media. These employees noted that they are still concerned by the health hazards of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which initially forced the at-home mandate, while one Blizzard employee, @LeastMyHairIsOk, opines that many coworkers find the commute, and the workplace environment, costly and stressful.

“The majority of employees at ABK have no interest in returning to office either full or part-time. This isn’t to say that nobody sees the value in an office environment, but we’ve overall decided the risks do not outweigh those benefits,” wrote the employee on Twitter. “For over a decade now, lower earning departments have pleaded with leadership to include yearly [Cost of Living] adjustments into salary to prevent this, but [have] been denied, and our most recent meetings from last month suggest that there are no plans for this to change this year.”

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Activision Blizzard confirmed plans for the return-to-office mandate.

“Activision Blizzard has been returning teams to the office over the past year, and on February 13, we updated our future-of-work plans,” said a spokesperson for the publisher. “In close partnership with each leadership team, we crafted a plan that is customized based on what’s best for our business and our teams.”

“We look forward to the increased real-time, in-person collaboration and opportunities this change will foster.”

Activision Blizzard employees are being forced to return to the office soon, it’s claimed [VGC]

Chris Moyse

Senior Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s and writing about them since the 1880s. Graduated from Galaxy High with honors. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse