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20.12.2023 - 21:08 / gameranx.com / Phil Spencer / Bobby Kotick
It was massive news when Microsoft revealed that they had put out a bid to acquire Activision Blizzard. Billions of dollars went into this purchase, and it was anything but easy. There were court cases and battles against the regulators to ensure that this deal would go through. Fortunately for Microsoft, the deal was finalized earlier this year. Since then, we’ve seen Microsoft go into a transitional phase to ensure production could continue while Microsoft took over the reins. Meanwhile, it was noted that Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, would continue staying on until the upcoming year.
Today, thanks to a report from Game Informer, who credits The Verge, we’re seeing Bobby step away from being the CEO next week. It’s not all that early as, again, it was speculated that at the start of 2024, we would see Bobby leave the company. So, the former CEO will enjoy his holiday and not worry about stepping back into Activision Blizzard when the New Year comes in. Previously, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, noted that Bobby would be around to ensure a smooth transition.
That seems to be over with, and this won’t be the only departure from Activision Blizzard. According to the report from The Verge, it seems a few executives will also leave the company. For instance, it’s noted that Humam Sakhnini, the vice chairman of Blizzard and King, will depart at the end of this month, with Activision Blizzard’s chief communications officer, Lulu Meservey, leaving at the end of January. This report goes on to state that other Activision Blizzard executives will be departing in March 2024.
Of course, 2024 should be a big year for Microsoft. We should see more additions added to Xbox Game Pass this coming year from the catalog of Activision Blizzard games. Likewise, after the acquisition from Microsoft, Bobby noted that we could see potential remakes from past IPs. With that said, it was reported that through the Insomniac Games leaks that emerged online, Sony is a bit more concerned with Microsoft now that they have control of Activision Blizzard. For now, we’ll just have to see what the future holds for Activision Blizzard titles and Microsoft as we go into the upcoming year. For now, we’re still waiting on Microsoft to put the line of Activision Blizzard games on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
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A former Activision Blizzard executive is suing the company for age discrimination, according to lawsuit filed on Jan. 2. James Reid Venable, a 57-year-old former senior director of business operations, said Activision Blizzard “retaliated and discriminated” against him after he made a discrimination complaint to the company’s human resources department — specifically, Venable believes he was laid off for being old and white.
It’s always nice to think that certain industries are “above harassment” or other things that have weighed down our world. But, sadly, that faith is rarely rewarded. The places and companies that should be the most “sound of mind” sometimes turn out to be the most corrupt or have some of the most hate-filled people around. For example, the video game industry is full of horror stories about the working conditions of certain places and the abuses made by those in power. And that says nothing about gamers themselves. But in the case of Activision Blizzard, they had an issue that was so grand that it resulted in several lawsuits, and those suits keep on coming.
Activision-Blizzard has been the centre of a lot of controversy over these past few years. After a lawsuit went public, detailing «numerous complaints about unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation» and a «frat boy» culture, plus claims from former CEO Bobby Kotick that the whole thing was just an «aggressive labour movement,» the company finally settled last year.
A former Activision Blizzard executive has filed a discrimination claim with the company, alleging it of discriminating against «old white guys».
One constant of the last year's worth of news swirling aroundMicrosoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was the back-and-forth bickering between the tech giant and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority as the deal headed to a close. Now, Microsoft's Brad Smith seems to have softened his tone a bit regarding the CMA.
After 32 years, Bobby Kotick has retired at Activision Blizzard King, and possibly, from the video game industry as a whole.
This July, Blizzard announced it would bring back its games to Steam after several years of absence, beginning with Overwatch 2. However, the team-based first-person shooter game's debut on Valve's platform was marred by severe review bombing. Overwatch 2 actually became the lowest-rated game of all time on Steam when it first became available there. While the game isn't quite as popular as its predecessor, it still is a solid product that shouldn't be rated anywhere near as low. The main factor was the cancellation of the PvE mode, which angered fans due to the developer's broken promise, but that's not the whole story.
It's official: Bobby Kotick has left Activision Blizzard. After 32 years of leading the company, originally just Activision before the Blizzard merger, the controversial CEO is gone, having seen the Microsoft acquisition through to the end.
Long-time Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick is leaving the company following its acquisition by Microsoft in October. Kotick will depart on 29th December, with Microsoft largely keeping the company’s core leadership intact outside of this.
Long-time Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick is leaving the company following its acquisition by Microsoft in October. Kotick will depart on 29th December, with Microsoft largely keeping the company’s leadership intact outside of this.
The CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, is officially stepping down from his role later this month, it’s been confirmed.