James Corden’s appearance at Activision all-hands sounds like a joke

polygon.com:

Days before Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are hoping to tie up its $68.7 billion merger, the Call of Duty publisher and Overwatch 2 developer brought all its employees together for an all-hands meeting… hosted by former late-night host James Corden, according to a report from Windows Central. Yes, the former The Late Late Show host known for terrorizing Los Angeles drivers with musical stunts appeared alongside Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick to bring employees up to speed on the state of the company.

Why? Kotick and Corden appear to be friendly. The duo were filmed together at Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin’s infamous 2023 white party, as seen in a video montage of celebrities at the event — Kotick and Corden’s appearance flanked between the Kardashians, NBA athletes, and other big name celebrities and models. It’s possible Kotick thought his employees would be excited for a celebrity appearance at an all-hands meeting. Corden, however, is absolutely a bizarre pick: He doesn’t have the best reputation in Hollywood or elsewhere.

Corden reportedly asked Kotick how Activision Blizzard will keep its culture, which Kotick described as “magic.” (Activision Blizzard settled a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit in 2021 that alleged sexual harassment and discrimination at the company. A lawsuit between Activision Blizzard and California’s Civil Rights Department is ongoing.) Kotick said Microsoft is interested in the company’s “magic,” according to Windows Central.

“I think a lot [Activision’s] motivation is that we have these enormous communities of players of 400 million people in 190 countries around the world who are engaged every single day,” Kotick said. “I think people [at Activision] feel this