(Reuters) – Activision Blizzard Inc on Tuesday paused plans for an online version of the video game publisher’s annual BlizzCon convention that was scheduled for early next year.
The company did not give a reason for the move, which comes as the owner of the “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush” franchises battles claims over sexual harassment and discrimination at its workplace.
Sixteen years after BlizzCon started, the gaming convention was taken online in May due to the COVID-19 pandemic and dubbed BlizzConline.
“Even though we aren’t holding BlizzConline in February, we’ll still be making announcements and updates for our games,” the company said in a blog post. (https://bit.ly/318E3s1)
Earlier this month, Activision said it had fired more than 20 employees following allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at the workplace, with 20 more individuals facing other forms of disciplinary action.
The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday after markets close.
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
