What you need to know
- Today was CEO Bobby Kotick's last day at Activision Blizzard after almost 33 years with the company.
- The stepping down of Bobby Kotick came after the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, which closed in October.
- Kotick's time at the helm has been shadowed by controversy, and his departure met with a jubilant outpouring on social media. This includes one story shared by a Call of Duty programmer who recalled how Kotick once threatened to "have an employee killed," which led to an admission of guilt and an out of court settlement on Kotick's part.
As foretold in a memo to staff earlier this December, swooping leadership changes have been made at Activision Blizzard as the company enters 2024 as its first year under the helm of Microsoft following the $69 billion acquisition. The most publicized change was the departure of Activision Blizzard CEO and employee of 33 years, Bobby Kotick.
Today marked Bobby's last day at the gaming company, and his exit has prompted some former staff to share stories of his tenure. However, these aren't the heart warming tales of a chance encounter by the water cooler. One former programmer reiterated that within a month of their start on a Call of Duty project, Kotick "threatened to have an employee killed." The case was widely reported at the time, and goes beyond allegations — Kotick himself admitted it, and settled out of court when sued, describing the threat as "hyperbole."
The "threat," and then an out of court settlement
i worked on COD for two years as a programmer at demonwarebobby's decisions made our games worsein my first month it came out he threatened to have an employee killed. in the all-hands that followed, no-one wanted to speak first. so i demanded his firing in front of everyone https://t.co/yhlM5xqPPgDecember 29, 2023
A former Call of Duty programmer going by @chhopsky on Twitter recalled the event while devs of all stripes chimed on on Bobby Kotick's departure from Activision Blizzard. The Tweet states, "I worked on COD for two years as a programmer at demonware. Bobby's decisions made our games worse."
Demonware, a software development studio known for collaborating with Activision Blizzard (ABK) on Call of Duty titles, has aided other studios within ABK. Christina goes into more detail about their experience working with ABK in their Tweet "in my first month it came out he threatened to have an employee killed. in the all-hands that followed, no-one wanted to speak first. so i demanded his firing in front of everyone." (sic)
The event was widely reported by Business Insider and other outlets back in 2021. Kotick is reported to have settled out of court over the situation.
The case describes how Kotick left a voicemail on an assistant's cell phone in 2006, threatening to "have her killed," as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The matter was settled out of court, and Activision addressed the accusations following the report, stating, "Mr. Kotick quickly apologized 16 years ago for the obviously hyperbolic and inappropriate voicemail, and he deeply regrets the exaggeration and tone in his voicemail to this day."
In 2007, Kotick faced a harassment lawsuit from a flight attendant, who claimed he said to their legal team, "I'm going to destroy you." A spokesman for Mr. Kotick denied that he ever made such a statement.
Update (Jan 2, 2024): We've updated the language in this segment to reflect the situation more accurately, including references to Kotick's admission of guilt via a spokesperson in WSJ.
Kotick throws Overwatch under the bus
Another former Activision employee recounted Kotick's botched handling of Overwatch 2, which Kotick previously blamed for the company's weakening share price in recent years.
Andy Belford, formerly of the community team at Activision-Blizzard, sounded the alarm that Overwatch 2 would be immediately review bombed after hitting Steam. Overwatch 2 remains one of the most negatively-reviewed games on the platform to this day, which impacts the game's visibility on Steam and also led to a wave of negative press about Overwatch and Blizzard in general.
Moderation of steam was put on the community team (not a function of community at Blizz), despite my refusal to want to expose members of my team to that level of toxic content/posts. When asked whose decision it was to launch on Steam with no additional help: BobbyDecember 29, 2023
Belford recounted how Bobby Kotick himself was happy to drop the game straight on Steam without giving the community team any form of additional support. Overwatch 2 and other Blizzard properties were subjected to waves of international hatred owing to the collapse of Activision's publishing deal with NetEase in China, leading to hundreds of thousands of players losing access to games like World of Warcraft and Overwatch itself. Blizzard was also faced with backlash from its numerous lawsuits, but of course, it wasn't CEO Bobby Kotick who would bear the brunt of this condemnation.
Belford goes on to describe the avalanche of toxicity leveraged against his team, for decisions none of them were involved in making. He (and many others) have since moved on from Blizzard for greener pastures.
A new start for Activision Blizzard under Microsoft?
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Bobby Kotick's tenure as CEO has been marred by controversy since the investigation into Activision Blizzard's workplace practices in 2018. California's Civil Rights Department received a complaint from a former employee, which began a whirlwind of bad publicity for the company. Many place the blame directly at Kotick's door. With allegations of the company and Kotick himself not taking sexual harassment, assault, and unequal pay complaints seriously dating back to 2006.
The lawsuit sparked widespread outrage from the gaming community and will forever cast a shadow over ABK's history. It finally came to a close on December 16, 2023, with a $54 million settlement being paid out by Activision Blizzard, first reported by the Wall Street Journal. California's Civil Rights Department was reported to have said that the settlement resolves allegations of discrimination and pay disparity. According to WSJ, Activision has said the state has agreed to file an amended complaint that withdraws its 2021 claims alleging widespread and systemic workplace harassment at the company.
Kotick's departure from Activision Blizzard following the Microsoft acquisition has come sooner than expected. Originally penciled for January 2024, an internal memo to staff confirmed his last day would be December 29, 2023. Perhaps indicating a 'New year, New start' for the company under Microsoft's wing. Let's hope that is the case.
