"Bobby Kotick's decisions made our games worse," says former Call of Duty dev
31.12.2023 - 17:59
/ eurogamer.net
/ Bobby Kotick
«Bobby [Kotick]'s decisions made our games worse,» a former Call of Duty programmer said on social media the same day Kotick completed his final day as CEO at Activision Blizzard.
«I worked on [Call of Duty] for two years as a programmer at Demonware. Bobby's decisions made our games worse,» said Christina Pollock. «In my first month, it came out he threatened to have an employee killed. In the all-hands [all staff meeting] that followed, no one wanted to speak first. So I demanded his firing in front of everyone.»
In a candid thread on Twitter/X, Pollock said: «I get that I am very loud and very annoying and that with my seniority and ease of other opportunities, that affords me certain protections and safety to do such things.
»But you all need to get on board this train. We all need to revolt against people like this, every time," they added.
i worked on COD for two years as a programmer at demonware
bobby's decisions made our games worse
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 https://t.co/yhlM5xqPPg
«If I'd been fired, I had several other companies hovering in the wings, but that is why it is on senior staff to dig their heels in. Juniors will not feel safe doing that until their leaders do it first. We may not have unions, but we do have power if we work together.
»Ask the loud annoying question in the all-hands, make it short, direct, to the point, and leave no room for waffling in response. Make it sharp, direct, and do it with clarity and without anger so they can't attack your delivery.
«They won't answer, but everyone will see it.»
Pollock confirmed that «Demonware protected [them]» from reprisal but acknowledged that other studios may not, saying: «Write down what you said. Keep notes in case HR pings you. Record yourself saying it in the meeting if you can so that you have evidence of exactly what happened, because pissweak executives will take their exposed failure personally.»
«If seniors don't speak up where juniors cannot, any junior worth while will be gone at the first chance,» confirmed another developer. «Management like this destroys a company's future workforce.»
Pollock isn't the only developer talking openly about Kotick's impact on the organisation, either. As spotted by PCGN, community manager Andy Belford also spoke up about how Kotick's decision-making affected morale.
«Breaking my silence to share a fun fact: when we planned Overwatch 2's Steam launch, my team warned (months in advance) that we were going to be review bombed. We begged for more information, more details, and more resources to help us with the anticipated