CEO Bobby Kotick will leave Activision Blizzard on January 1, 2024

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, emailed staff after information of Microsoft’s profitable $69 billion acquisition to say that he was “absolutely dedicated to serving to with the transition” and that he would keep on as CEO by the top of 2023.

Kotick’s assertion left some ambiguity about his plans for 2024, however Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports that on January 1, Kotick will depart. It is “a large change for the online game trade,” Schreier writes, which appears nearly restrained, given Kotick’s longevity and up to date historical past. A number of staff Schreier spoke to are “very excited for this deal to undergo,” particularly to see leadership change.

Kotick, who has led Activision for greater than 30 years and orchestrated its merger with Blizzard, had thought of stepping down in late 2021. Following a lawsuit from the state of California alleging a “frat boy tradition” rife with pay disparity and sexual harassment, a Wall Road Journal report alleged that Kotick didn’t act on a whole bunch of abuse allegations inside the firm and likewise saved the corporate’s board of administrators in the dead of night. Activision was additionally sued by its shareholders and pressured by state treasurers over its secrecy and responses concerning the California lawsuit. All of this led to an worker walkout and requires Kotick’s resignation.

Kotick stood quick by the flurry of criticism in 2021. In early 2022, Microsoft introduced its intent to purchase Activision, and the timing, in accordance with experiences from Bloomberg and the Wall Road Journal, was not a coincidence. Kotick, in accordance with Bloomberg, did not need to promote however had little leverage with Activision’s board to refuse a suggestion. Microsoft’s buy, at $95 per share, in comparison with the roughly $65 per share when the deal was introduced, supplied Kotick each a monetary and narrative “sleek exit,” in accordance with the Journal’s sources.

Kotick advised VentureBeat after the Microsoft announcement that he did not imagine the harassment and mismanagement accusations harm the corporate’s inventory. He cited delays in transport Overwatch and Diablo titles, together with Name of Obligation‘s gross sales efficiency.

Whereas CEO of Activision, Kotick’s termination with out trigger, or “Termination by worker for good motive following a change of management,” guaranteed him nearly $300 million. Bloomberg experiences that Kotick’s windfall will probably be $375 million now that Microsoft’s acquisition has gone by.