...Y'know, something just occurred to me.
Erin suffers from schizophrenia. She experiences hallucinations, and has a handful of other symptoms too. Usually, her hallucinations take the form of game characters, who-for the most part-stay, "In character." Kratos recognizes that he's Kratos, Link doesn't speak...they act like the characters she's imagining, by virtue of being her own hallucinations.
This Activision guy is acting like a normal hu--like a normal Activision employee, and Erin is treating him like he's a human. She went on a date with him, and her friends knew about him.
You can probably see what I'm getting at now. What if this guy is human?