Bobby Kotick Says There Should Be More Mergers To Compete With Tencent
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick continues to hit back against the Microsoft merger being blocked in the UK. Now, Kotick is saying that even more mergers should be permitted, in a bid to compete with the likes of Tencent.
These comments come from a discussion with CNBC, in which Kotick comments on the recent setback in getting the Microsoft deal over the line. Here, he says that the gaming industry needs more consolidation, despite Microsoft having already scooped up numerous studios over the past few years.
Related: Bobby Kotick Should Have Been Forced Out Of The Gaming Industry Years Ago
"I think at some point, you're gonna start to see the regulators realize that we're seeing [an] enormous amount of high-paying jobs getting lost from tech companies," says Kotick. " I look at ByteDance, Tencent. These are the best companies in their industries in the world...For American companies to be able to effectively compete we have to be able to have consolidation and have these kinds of mergers."
Clearly, this is Kotick trying to put a pro-worker spin on the merger. This is significant, given Activision Blizzard's very public workers' rights issues, and even abuse allegations in the workplace.
Despite these feelings that the industry will have to consolidate, Kotick was quick to add that Activision Blizzard can continue if the deal doesn't go ahead.
"We're a strong company," says Kotick. "And I think whether the deal goes through or not...we continue to operate as an independent company. It just gets more challenging when you're operating in a global market."
It's not surprising that Kotick has taken this angle, as Activision has also been no stranger to layoffs, with Raven Software staff staging a walkout last year
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