Bobby Kotick took over the role of CEO at Activision in 1991 and 32 years later he is now leaving the heir Activision Blizzard following Microsoft’s acquisition of the company. The former CEO has been one of the gaming industry’s most powerful people, and has many detractors. When he has now left the office for the last time, many in the industry, both former employees and others who have worked with and under him, have taken the opportunity to sign off.
Former Call of Duty developer Christina writes according to Windows Central that within the first month after she joined Demonware, Bobby Kotick threatened to have an employee murdered, and no one wanted to bring it up at the next staff meeting, and that “Bobby’s decision made our games worse.” This appears to refer to an incident in 2006 when Bobby Kotick said Wall Street Journal left a threatening message on an assistant’s answering machine. That led to a lawsuit and a secret settlement with undisclosed damages and a public apology from the CEO.
Another former employee says according Insider Gaming that the CEO caused several months of delay in the development of Overwatch 2, and that he ignored the warnings of many developers that an early launch on Steam would lead to bad reviews.
Windows Central editor Jez Corden type in X that he has not found “a single positive comment from former or current employees” and that Bobby Kotick “was by all accounts hated.” In a response writes the account Nasdacn about a nickname Bobby Kotick has in China, that he is believed to be behind Blizzard stopping Battle.net in the country and claims that there have been fireworks to celebrate his departure from the company.
2023-12-31 19:01:48
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