Activision Blizzard reportedly planning to end remote work

gamedeveloper.com:

Remote work is reportedly ending across Activision Blizzard. According to a developer at Blizzard Entertainment (known by their Twitter handle LeastMyHairIsOk), workers across the publisher's many studios will be expected to return to the office between April and June, depending on the studio. 

Game studios went remote during the early days of the pandemic to protect employees, and for larger triple-A studios, there were some initial hurdles to get through. Blizzard specifically created several remote work layers, including cloud apps for personal computers and desktop infrastructure for latency and framerate-sensitive tools. 

To this day, studios such as Bungie continue to offer remote work amidst the general perception that the pandemic is winding down to an end. Some recently opened studios like Wildflower Interactive, operate solely through remote work. 

But as LeastMyHairIsOk points out in their thread, several Blizzard employees or their families will be put at high risk of infection if remote work is completely eliminated. They further argued that after nearly three years of working from home, "the majority of employees at ABK have no interest in returning to office either full or part time."

"Leadership isn't prepared for what is likely to happen - an exodus of talent as we find work elsewhere," they continued. "What incentive do our employees have to remain at ABK?"

Across their thread, they point out other reasons for the importance of remote work, including how it affects morale and the rise of housing costs. To them, Activision Blizzard is offering an ultimatum, one that they are not willing to concede to. 

"To ABK leadership, we have been flexible long enough. It is your turn to bend, before you break this company