Bobby Kotick – he’ll be getting a very significant Christmas present when he leaves (Credits: Getty Images)
Bobby Kotick is soon to be the ex-boss of Activision Blizzard as Microsoft announce his exit and a reshuffle of top jobs at Xbox.
It hardly seems worth celebrating, considering how vigorous a golden handshake he will get, but Bobby Kotick will finally be leaving Activision Blizzard for good on December 29, this year.
Kotick has been at Activision for 32 years and is personally responsible for much of its early success, once he gained controlled of the assets of the original 80s versions of the company and transformed it into the giant-sized publisher we know today.
He’s undoubtedly one of the most successful video game businessmen of all time but for decades his reputation has been that of a greedy, belligerent bully, hated by gamers and his own employees – who have tried to have him removed multiple times.
Kotick has frequently been criticised for the huge salaries and bonuses he’s awarded himself, even while cutting hundreds of jobs. Although his greatest controversy came in how he handled the scandal of toxic workplace conditions at Activision Blizzard.
He was personally involved in one incident, when he left a voice mail message threating to have one of his assistants killed, and he was accused of knowingly underplaying details of the wider company problems to Activision Blizzard’s executive board.
Ultimately, it was that scandal which allowed Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard, as the publisher’s share price fell and Xbox boss Phil Spencer made an offer, which would see Kotick stay on until the acquisition was complete.
Now that it is, he’s leaving and while it’s not known exactly how much he’ll personally make from the deal, the fact that he was paying himself $30 million a year gives you an idea of the scale involved.
At times, Spencer has tried to distance himself from Kotick, clearly aware of his reputation, but in an internal email to staff, obtained by The Verge, he was nothing but complimentary.
‘Under Bobby’s watch, Activision Blizzard in its many incarnations has been an enduring pillar of video games. Whether it’s Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush Saga or any number of other titles, his teams have created beloved franchises and entertained hundreds of millions of players for decades,’ wrote Spencer.
‘I’d like to thank Bobby – for his invaluable contributions to this industry, his partnership in closing the Activision Blizzard acquisition and his collaboration following the close – and I wish him and his family the very best in his next chapter.’
Kotick’s own leaving letter can be read here, but it gives no indication of what he will do next. He is not expected to remain in the games industry, but he has been connected with Premier League football club West Ham United – more likely as an investor rather than an executive.
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The departure of Kotick will see a reshuffle of leadership at Xbox, although everyone will still end up reporting to the newly promoted Matt Booty, who in turn reports to Phil Spencer.
As such there will be no direct replacement for Kotick, with individual studio heads instead all being organised under Booty.
Rather than anyone at Activision Blizzard, the most significant change in the wake of Kotick’s departure is that Jill Braff, who worked at both Nintendo and Sega in the 90s, has been put in charge all ZeniMax/Bethesda studios, with Todd Howard and other studio heads reporting to her.
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Bobby Kotick is soon to be the ex-boss of Activision Blizzard, as Microsoft announce his exit and a reshuffle of top jobs at Xbox.