- Most of Activision Blizzard’s management will remain in place after the merger with Microsoft
- The most notable departure is Bobby Kotick as CEO
- Even before the acquisition, there were a number of sexual harassment scandals around him
Microsoft’s major acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finally officially closed, but the story is far from over. Activision Blizzard’s involvement in the Redmond giant’s structures will take some time, with some people sure to lose their jobs as part of the restructuring. Among them will also be high-ranking managers who will no longer have their place in the new structure. The positive news, however, is that most of the management will remain in place.
Most of the staff will stay, but Bobby Kotick will leave
However, this does not apply to CEO Bobby Kotick, who will officially step down on December 29. Microsoft did not name a direct successor, instead convening a suite of Activision Blizzard executives, including Blizzard President Mike Ybarra, Activision Publishing President Rob Kostich, and Activision Blizzard Vice President Thomas Tipple, under Microsoft’s President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty.
Kotick’s departure comes just two months after major changes in Xbox leadership, with Sarah Bond being promoted to president of Xbox, who will oversee all Xbox platform and hardware work, and Matt Booty being promoted to president of game content and studios, including overseeing Bethesda and ZeniMax. Now, Booty is given even more responsibility, with Bethesda, Activision Blizzard and Xbox Game Studios under his watch.
Microsoft is keeping Activision Blizzard’s leadership in place, with the exception of some senior positions. Communications chief Lulu Meservey will leave Activision Blizzard at the end of January. Humam Sakhnini (Vice Chairman of Blizzard and King) will also be leaving at the end of December. A number of Activision Blizzard executives will also leave in March.
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Bobby Kotick’s departure is no big surprise. Activision and Kotick have been embroiled in controversy since July 2021, when the state of California sued Activision over “persistent sexual harassment” that included unwanted comments and physical touching of female employees by men, with the suit alleging that top executives knew or were aware of workplace issues. participated in them.
Author of the article
Dominik Vlasak
Editor, traveler, fan of technology, Star Wars and good coffee.
2023-12-21 16:00:00
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