The Wall Street Journal also released its own report in 2021 accusing Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick of knowing about cases of harassment of his employees and, in one case, even participating himself by leaving a voicemail threatening to have his former assistant killed. Kotick has denied that there's a culture of harassment at Activision Blizzard and described the reporting on employee harassment and abuse as "mischaracterizations." Activision Blizzard struck an $18 million settlement with a US employment watchdog in 2021; multiple executives have since departed the company. Activision has also updated parts of Overwatch and World of Warcraft to remove in-game references to employees accused of harassment or other offensive behavior.