Former lead visual effects artist Chris Sayers recently tweeted about his experience working at Blizzard Entertainment. He cited poor treatment, misinformation and lack of support from management as the main reasons for his dismissal.
Sayers described his time at Blizzard Entertainment as a controversial year with great teammates, but he was lied to and bullied by management after a promotion that turned out to be a sham, ultimately leading to his decision to leave the company for the sake of his mental health.
Despite his positive experiences with his teammates, Sayers believes he could have been more energetic and calm. He tweeted that he was often overworked due to broken promises and unrealistic management expectations. Disappointment set in when a promised promotion to lead VFX artist on the skins and cosmetics team turned out to be a simple change in responsibilities without an accompanying salary increase.
Before I agreed, I wanted to make sure that management and I had the same thoughts about my new role. I requested all these details and received a promise that they would be sent to me in writing by the end of the week
Naturally, he was not given any details. In addition, Sayers spoke about how the company responded to a situation involving a close friend.
I explained that my friend was waiting to provide treatment for his sick parents, whom he was caring for. In response, the managers laughed and said that they should not make an exception for a junior employee. The friend was given until the end of the month to move or quit. Our team was upset
This and the refusal to hire additional support added to his workload and contributed to his overall stress. His attempts to gain clarity on promised pay increases were met with delays, excuses and a clear lack of ethical pay.
I had months of messages, emails I sent to HR to explain what I was talking about and eventually they responded. “You seem confused” … “there was no increase” … “it’s just a change in responsibilities” … “there is no salary increase.”
The statement prompted Sayers to file a formal complaint, but management maintained that all processes were followed correctly. This isn’t surprising given how Blizzard has handled complaints in the past.
Then I found out that I was making less than 50% of the salary of the other top VFX artists at Blizzard. In addition, I get paid even less than the people I manage. My bosses said the reason was because I was based in the UK and my salary was based on the market average rather than my value as an employee.
The situation came to a head when Sayers decided to quit, but was faced with an unexpected restriction in the form of a non-compete clause, effectively barring him from working elsewhere for three months without compensation.
I told management that I couldn’t survive three months without a salary because I had a mortgage. They replied that it was not worth signing the contract then. A few minutes later my access to the work chat was cut off. This is the end of my career at Blizzard.
With all this, we must remember that this is only one side of the story. We haven’t heard the Blizzard version yet.