Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available
Michigan man Docquen Jovo Watkins has been accused of killing his boyfriend, Rory Teasley, over Blizzard’s popular FPS Overwatch’s recent free-to-play trial period on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, which ran throughout the holiday season until Sunday, January 2.
Overwatch, a team-based multiplayer shooter, has had a controversial few months. As fans continue to wait for the release of its sequel, developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment has been under fire as a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard's ongoing abuse and discrimination lawsuit has impacted all of the studios under its umbrella, causing many to turn away from even its most popular games. Earlier this month, it was reported that The LEGO Group is reevaluating its partnership with Activision Blizzard due to the accusations, leading the LEGO Overwatch sets to be delayed indefinitely.
As reported by NBC via GameSpot, a Michigan man stands accused of killing his longtime boyfriend over Overwatch. On the night of the incident, January 6, the accused murderer Docquen Jovo Watkins reportedly called police, explaining to deputies that he and his partner of 10 years, Rory Teasley, got “into a fight.” Watkins claimed that Teasley was “'sleeping on the couch” of their home in Pontiac when he reported the domestic dispute. When authorities arrived on the scene, Teasley was unconscious and not breathing. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Sheriff Michael Bouchard said of the incident: "We see far too often across the country these days when people resort to violence over trivial and insignificant disagreements." While the exact nature of the alleged altercation remains unclear, Bouchard stated: “There is never a reason where violence is acceptable over a disagreement.”
Releases within the multiplayer genre have often hit the headlines due to the toxicity often found in online FPS games. Titles like Call of Duty: Warzone, Dota 2, and Overwatch have frequently been faced with controversy over their communities, with racism, homophobia, sexism, and bullying being some of the issues many s face while trying to play a game with others online. Many developers have focused on new measures to cut down on toxicity in online gaming, issuing bans for those reported for misconduct.
While Watkins stated he had a dispute with his boyfriend over Overwatch, it’s unclear what occurred leading up to the incident, and until police can provide further evidence, it’s not safe to assume that the incident was directly caused by the game. While some studies have suggested gaming can promote violent behavior, no concrete evidence has been confirmed, and, as pointed out in a 2018 popular Games for Change video, there are plenty of empathetic and curious moments in gaming that do not include violent depictions.
