Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Addresses Microsoft Acquisition In Letter To Employees
Microsoft/Xbox rocked the game industry today by announcing its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Activision has been embattled with numerous sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits, multiple employee walkouts, and a strike at Raven Software with CEO Bobby Kotick at the center of it all.
Today’s acquisition immediately raised questions on whether or not Kotick will remain CEO in the wake of these ongoing controversies, with Microsoft confirming he will still lead Activision for the time being. Kotick himself has not explicitly discussed his future post-acquisition, but it’s worth keeping in mind that, generally, such management changes can’t be openly disclosed until after the deal is finalized. Kotick did, however, pen a letter to Activision Blizzard employees rationalizing the sale and how Microsoft can improve the company.
One important detail Kotick points out is that the transition will take some time to complete. He points to Microsoft’s fiscal year of 2023 ending on June 30 as the estimated timeframe for the full approval process to wrap up. Until then, Activision will continue to operate independently.
Kotick hopes Microsoft’s expertise in technologies such as cloud computing and AI machine learning will support Activision's existing plans. Kotick previously cites the growing competition around the metaverse concept, alluding that Microsoft will be a big help making their mark in that space.
In terms of Activision’s cultural problems, Kotick also points to Microsoft’s philosophy of employee caring as another selling point and hopes it will help inspire to continue to improve its own internal issues. Xbox head Phil Spencer alluded to a similar mantra of helping problematic studios be
Read more on gameinformer.com
