Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will officially step down and exit the company on December 29th.
The Call of Duty publisher announced the news as part of a broader restructuring amid its recent takeover by Microsoft. While Microsoft has yet to name a replacement for Kotick, the company has confirmed that remaining Activision Blizzard executives, including Activision publishing president Rob Kostich and Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, will now report to Microsoft’s game content and studios president, Matt Booty.
Kotick’s departure from Activision Blizzard comes after a lengthy tenure as CEO that dates back to 1991. More notable, however, is the string of controversies that have surrounded Kotick over the past few years. In July 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the company over an allegedly toxic work culture.
However, Kotick largely denied any wrongdoing, outside of apologies for an initial response, and plans to introduce initiatives like third-party-led “safe spaces” and diversified hiring practices. In a rare interview earlier this year, Kotick doubled down on his denials, claiming it all boiled down to “mischaracterizations” in the media.
“We’ve had every possible form of investigation done. And we did not have a systemic issue with harassment — ever. We didn’t have any of what were mischaracterizations reported in the media,” he claimed. He went on to accuse organized efforts to unionize within the company as “working hard to try and destabilize the company.”
However, California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) voluntarily withdrew its case and stated that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations.” Further the CRD says there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Kotick, as reported by The New York Times.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard means Kotick is getting a very graceful exit from the company. It remains to be seen whether Kotick plans to join another company.
Update 27/03/2024 10:23pm ET: This story has been updated to include the fact that the CRD has voluntarily withdrawn its case against Activision after finding no evidence of wrongdoing, as reported by The New York Times. Several references to reporting from outside sources surrounding Kotick’s time at Activision Blizzard have been removed from this article.
Image credit: Activision Blizzard
Via: The Verge
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