For Bobby Kotick, everything went exactly as planned. Weakened by a battalion of harassment scandals that he has long helped to suppress, and some of which targeted him personally, the historic leader of Activision Blizzard began discussing a possible alliance with Microsoft in November 2021 with Phil Spencer. The objective is to sell the largest Western publisher at a historic price ($69 billion) and take the opportunity to escape its responsibilities with full pockets and a feeling of accomplishment. Between salaries and stock sales, Kotick had already received $727 million between 2008 and 2022, to which we can add around an additional $400 million as part of the acquisition of his remaining shares by Microsoft, as l ‘explains Oscar Lemaire on Ludostrie.
What remains, objectively, is the story of a manager who took his company from the era of Atari ST games to the status of a colossus exceeding 8 billion dollars in annual turnover, a sprawling company whose striking force has few equals on consoles (Call of Duty) as well as PC (World of Warcraft, Diablo) and mobile (Hearthstone, Candy Crush). In addition to the acquisitions of Blizzard (July 2008) and King (November 2015), one of the highlights of Bobby Kotick’s career was the fight to leave Vivendi and buy back his independence for more than 8 billion dollars. in July 2013.
Note that Bobby Kotick is not the only Activision Blizzard executive to take advantage of this to leave with his bonuses. Communications director Lulu Meservey, who has gained many followers on Twitter for her activism in favor of the acquisition, will leave the group at the end of January. Other leaders have also scheduled their departure by next March.
Excerpt from Bobby Kotick’s departure press release addressed to employees:
“ I cannot adequately express the pride I feel in the people who continue to contribute to our success and in all those who have helped me during the 32 years that I have spent at the helm of this business. We are now part of the world’s most admired company. It is not a coincidence.
Phil Spencer has enjoyed the magic of ABK for decades. When he approached Brian and me two years ago about acquiring the company, it was immediately clear that the combination of our businesses would allow us to continue to lead the way as the list of competent and well-resourced competitors is growing.
Phil shares our values and recognizes our talents. He is passionate about our games and the people who create them. His ambition is audacious. As we begin an exciting new chapter, you couldn’t be in better hands. »
More responsibilities for Matt Booty
As reported by the site The Verge, the departure of Bobby Kotick is the business of Matt Booty, whose responsibilities continue to expand in Microsoft’s video game galaxy. Already in charge of games and Xbox studios, Phil Spencer’s lieutenant will also be the main supervisor of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard studios. It is therefore to him that Rob Kostich (Activision), Mike Ybarra (Blizzard) and Tjodolf Sommestad (King) will be attached.
“ Today, we are excited to welcome the talented game development teams from Activision, Blizzard, and King to our organization. With Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda, our studio organization will continue its mission of creating world-class games that entertain and inspire players and build lasting communities of dedicated fans », Commented Matt Booty, who took the opportunity to announce the appointment of Jill Braff to the position of head of Bethesda studios. “ Jill will be responsible for leading the ZeniMax/Bethesda game development teams, which will continue to operate as limited-integration entities, while continuing to oversee the Microsoft Casual Games team. Todd Howard, Todd Vaughn, Matt Firor, Paul Jensen and Heather Cooper will report to Jill. »