GamesBeat Interview with Bobby Kotick Explains Motives for Selling Activision Blizzard to Microsoft
wowhead.comIn an interview with GamesBeat, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick explained his motive for selling the company to Microsoft, citing the delay of Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 as having a principle effect on Activision's declining stock price, beyond even the allegations reported by the Wall Street Journal and the state of California's sexual discrimination lawsuit.
Bobby Kotick, via GamesbeatGamesBeat: And was the sexual harassment investigation factor in this, as it certainly seemed to affect the stock price? Kotick: I think what affected the stock price more than that is pushing out Overwatch and Diablo. And then I think people started to see that this year’s Call of Duty wasn’t performing as well. So I think certainly the filing and the Wall Street Journal article contributed to that, but stocks go up and down for a variety of reasons. I think our view was that at $95 a share with all cash, that’s a really great deal for our shareholders. And so that was an easy and independent judgment. It’s a great deal.Other talking points raised in the article include issues of anti-trust and the increased competition within big-name gaming, as trillion dollar companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Netflix have all ramped up development on their own projects. Citing his strong relationship with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Head of Gaming Phil Spencer, Kotick explains that the need for bigger production teams and more resources made Microsoft the ideal partner, while the offer of 45% premium over the current stock price made selling and easy decision and good deal for shareholders. Meanwhile, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has disputed Kotick's statement, arguing an exercise in vanity and attempt to pass blame onto
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