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Activision joins industry chorus against proposed violent game law

Alexander Sliwinski
News Content Director
Updated ·2 min read

Activision Blizzard and CEO Bobby Kotick have released a public statement regarding the upcoming Supreme Court hearing in Schwarzenegger v. EMA on November 2. In the declaration, the top third-party video game publisher in the world aligns itself with the ESA and almost every other group that can see the ramifications against the First Amendment and all forms of media the law would have if it stands.

Kotick notes, "The sheer breadth of support exhibited by public interest organizations, civic and media groups, legislative leaders, academia and interested parties demonstrate both the importance video games have assumed in the hearts and minds of our nation and the sacredness of certain basic tenets of our Constitution. We will never give up the fight for the freedom of expression our industry deserves and we will never forget this support."

If you're curious in the list of organizations supporting the video game industry in the Supreme Court case, we've listed those who filed briefs in support of the ESA after the break.



Groups that filed amicus briefs in support of the ESA in Schwarzenegger v. EMA/ESA

  • Activision Blizzard, Inc

  • American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression

  • American Civil Liberties Union, The National Coalition Against Censorship and The National Youth Rights Association

  • Attorneys General (Rhode Island, Arkansas, Georgia, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Utah and Washington) Brief

  • Cato Institute

  • Computer & Communications Industry Association, Consumer Electronics Association, Information Technology Industry Council, Techamerica, Center For Democracy & Technology and The Digital Liberty Project of Americans for Tax Reform

  • Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

  • Consumer Electronic Retailers Coalition, Retail Industry Leaders Association, and State Retailer Federations

  • Entertainment Consumers Association, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Public Knowledge and Students for Free Culture

  • First Amendment Coalition

  • First Amendment Lawyers Association

  • First Amendment Scholars (Professors Cole, Karst, Post, Redish, Van Alstyne, Varat and Winkler)

  • The Future of Music Coalition, National Association of Media Arts and Culture, and Fractured Atlas

  • id Software, LLC

  • International Game Developers Association and Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

  • Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project and Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment

  • Microsoft Corporation

  • Motion Picture Association of America, Independent Film and Television Alliance, LucasFilm Ltd., National Association of Theater Owners, Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, Writers Guild of America - West, and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

  • National Association of Broadcasters

  • The National Cable & Telecommunications Association

  • The Progress & Freedom Foundation and the Electronic Frontiers Foundation

  • The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, American Society of News Editors, First Amendment Project, National Press Photographers Association, Radio-Television Digital News Association, Society of Professional Journalists, and Student Press Law Center

  • The Rutherford Institute

  • Social Scientists, Medical Scientists, and Media Effects Scholars

  • The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and the Media Institute

  • United States Chamber of Commerce

  • Vindicia, Inc.