Bobby Kotick Expected to Leave Activision Blizzard Following Sale to Microsoft
With the announcement that Activision Blizzard was being bought by Microsoft for an astonishing $68.7 billion, CEO Bobby Kotick's role has been left somewhat unclear. Though statements from both companies have confirmed that he would continue to lead Activision through the transitory period which is expected to last until around June of 2023, both sides have remained purposefully vague as to whether the most vilified person in gaming today would continue on after the sale is finalized. In the Wall Street Journal's report on the matter, however, people familiar with the plans have stated that both companies agreed Kotick would depart once the deal closes.
The Wall Street Journal Bobby Kotick, Activision’s longtime CEO, is expected to leave after the deal closes, according to people familiar with those plans. Microsoft had said in its announcement Tuesday that Mr. Kotick “will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard,” and that after the deal closes “the Activision Blizzard business will report to Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer. ” But the companies have agreed that he will depart once the deal closes, the people said.If true, this comes as both a shock and not incredibly surprising at the same time — despite his faults, Kotick is credited for rebuilding Activision from the ground up into the juggernaut it is today, having purchased the near bankrupt company for approximately $500,000 in 1991 and leading the company through a 10,000% increase in it's publicly traded valuation since that time. In many ways, Bobby Kotick is synonymous with Activision and it's impossible to imagine a scenario in which he would ever depart. Activision has seen a remarkable rebirth, from bankruptcy to one of the largest gaming
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