Jump to content
FORUMS
Sign in to follow this  
Staff

Bobby Kotick to Leave Activision Blizzard in January 2024

Recommended Posts

63692-acitivision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kot

As the Microsoft-Activision deal closes, Bobby Kotick will only stay on as CEO through the end of the year and leave on January 1, 2024.

Placeholder for tweet 1712818483442987422

Based on the value of his shares, Robert Kotick will leave with around $400 million and if Microsoft/Xbox wants to get rid of Kotick, he will also receive a minimum payout of $250 million.

kotick-payouts-scaled-1.jpg.jpg

Image courtesy of Dexterto.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd celebrate if I wasn't scared of who / what is replacing him.
The people in charge of games are no longer gamers, so there's no real "good ending" in these cases.

PS; And the amount of money these people "earn" is dumb, to say the least....

Edited by TheCake
  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Overwatch Bluepost after January: So we noticed some negative reception on last years pve campaign bundle so we decided that this years bundle will be free for everyone to play. Also Skins from the shop will go down from 25 $ too 10$ from now on

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, TheCake said:

I'd celebrate if I wasn't scared of who / what is replacing him.
The people in charge of games are no longer gamers, so there's no real "good ending" in these cases.

PS; And the amount of money these people "earn" is dumb, to say the least....

Exactly, Bobby was just a part of the problem, there are others. A lot of damage Blizzard has done was self-inflicted. 

Edited by Arcling

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 10/13/2023 at 6:22 PM, Arcling said:

Exactly, Bobby was just a part of the problem, there are others. A lot of damage Blizzard has done was self-inflicted. 

The CEO sets the tone, directs policy, and ultimately has the final say. So, getting rid of him is like resetting a broken bone. There's still other healing to take place, but the major injury is fixed.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, TheRagingwolf said:

The CEO sets the tone, directs policy, and ultimately has the final say. So, getting rid of him is like resetting a broken bone. There's still other healing to take place, but the major injury is fixed.

He still doesn't make many direct decisions. There is Blizzard's president, VPs, game directors, game producers (producers allocate team's resources and people for example), so "chain of command" is rather complicated. Depends how much MS will decide to intervene or if they will leave things as they are. Bethesda is still Bethesda for example, so I wouldn't have too much hope.

Anyway, Blizzard's guys were never flawless or that great (lawsuit and so on). Just because they made some great games in the past, doesn't mean they don't make mistakes themselves or they will always keep making good games. While Kotick is obviously a horrible person, it wasn't just him who was the problem. They were overconfident, had that infamous "rockstar personalities" and they themselves got too greedy and it shows.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, Arcling said:

He still doesn't make many direct decisions. There is Blizzard's president, VPs, game directors, game producers (producers allocate team's resources and people for example), so "chain of command" is rather complicated. Depends how much MS will decide to intervene or if they will leave things as they are. Bethesda is still Bethesda for example, so I wouldn't have too much hope.

Anyway, Blizzard's guys were never flawless or that great (lawsuit and so on). Just because they made some great games in the past, doesn't mean they don't make mistakes themselves or they will always keep making good games. While Kotick is obviously a horrible person, it wasn't just him who was the problem. They were overconfident, had that infamous "rockstar personalities" and they themselves got too greedy and it shows.

You're absolutely correct, the CEO doesn't make those day-to-day, ground level decisions. However, the CEO is the person putting the policies in place that guide all of those decisions. So, getting rid of Kotick is a major step in fixing whatever may be broken.

And yeah, Blizzard was never perfect, no one is, but the opportunity for new leadership is at least a dim ray of light in the dark dungeon of Blizzard.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 10/15/2023 at 2:24 PM, Swarf said:

His face makes me want to puke.  

He looks like the love child of Al Gore and Robert Blake.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Similar Content

    • By Staff
      PC Gamer had the chance to talk to Blizzard President Mike Ybarra who said Blizzard's job is to satisfy impatient players who want "new stuff every day, every hour".
      Interview Highlights
      Blizzard is now adapting to the Microsoft Era under the umbrella of Xbox and Phil Spencer. The focus remains on maintaining their live service model. Blizzard President Mike Ybarra emphasized the challenge of satisfying players who demant constant new content. He acknowledged the high expectations of players for new updates and experiences on a nearly continuous basis. The live service model is expected to continue with their upcoming unannounced survival game. Ybarra stressed out the difficulty of delivering new content on regular basis while ensuring fair and satisfying monetization strategies to players. Ybarra didn't rule out the possibility of Blizzard exploring shorter, non-live service games. Ybarra is yet to have discussions with Phil Spencer about the future direction under the new ownership. You can read the full interview here.
    • By Staff
      We're liveblogging all the important announcements and highlights from the opening ceremony. Check back often for updates!
      BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony Highlights
      World of Warcraft
      Chris Metzen is now on stage talking about the next WoW expansion. The next expansion is titan-themed, light vs the void. The new storyline feels like the culmination of 20 years of storytelling. They are adding something called World of Warcraft: Worldsoul Saga which will cover multiple expansions at a faster pace.
      The first chapter is called World of Warcraft: The War Within, you will meet the Nerubians and descend to the Heart of Azeroth. The second part of the saga is called World of Warcraft: Midnight - In this chapter, you will be returning to the old world, to the fabled lands of Quel'thalas. There, the forces of the void have invaded Azeroth, they are plunging the world into the darkness. You will banish the shadow forever. The final part of the saga is called World of Warcraft: The Last Titan. In this chapter you will return to Northrend. There, at Ulduar you will bear witness to the return of titans to Azeroth. There, you will uncover a vast conspiracy. One that stretches throughout the history of the world. One that challenges everything you know about the world and it's called Silithus. They are now playing a trailer for the War Within. In the War Within, we will be meeting Xal'atath who is leading a Nerubian civilization. New zones include Azj-Kahet, Isle of Dorn, The Ringing Deeps. New features include Delves, and Warbands! You can treat alts as family and there will be account-wide reputation! Earthen Dwarves are coming as an Allied Race in War Within. War Within releases in Fall 2024. World of Warcraft Classic
      Holy Longdale is now talking about WoW. They are adding a new way of playing Hardcore in Classic. Cataclysm Classic was just announced. It's coming in the first half of 2024. Season of Discovery was announced for Classic. It will include game-altering abilities. The season will allow Warlocks to be tanks and Mages can become healers. The initial cap will be 25. Season of Discovery launches on November 30. Warcraft Rumble
      Warcraft Rumble launched yesterday. The game has 70 bosses and plenty of dungeons. They will be adding new minions every season. In Season 1 it's Sylvanas. Hearthstone
      Showdown in the Badlands is the latest Hearthstone expansion launching on November 14. Catch-up card packs will be introduced to Hearthstone You will find more details here. They have announced Battlegrounds Duos with a shared health pool, team combat, you can fight with your friends instead of against them.
      World of Warcraft
      John Hight revealed the future of WoW will be revealed today, so expect a new WoW expansion! Diablo
      Rod Fergusson is now talking about Diablo 4. Diablo 4 is the biggest launch in Blizzard's history with more than 1.5 billion hours played. The devs are talking about quality-of-life improvements to the game implemented based on community feedback. Next week, they're adding 5 Malignant Rings to Season 2 that let you relive the fun you've had during the Season of the Malignant. Enchanting Preview Window will be added to the Occultists. Abbatoir of Zir a new Seasonal Event. Midwinter Blight in Diablo 4 starts on December 2. Blizzard revealed Vessel of Hatred, a new Diablo 4 expansion coming in late 2024. It follows the story of Mephisto in a lush jungle.
      You can find Blizzard's official recap here. Overwatch
      Aaron Keller is now talking about Overwatch.  Overwatch Art Director has revealed a new hero for Overwatch named Mauga. A new Clash PvP mode is planned for Overwatch 2 in 2024. The Hanamura map is returning as Hanaoka. Competitive is being reworked with new rewards. They have two new Heroes planned in 2024. More details to be unveiled tomorrow. Intro
      Blizzard President Mike Ybarra welcomes everyone at BlizzCon. This is the first in-person BlizzCon taking place after 4 long years. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, is now on stage. It's his first BlizzCon. He talks about how much he enjoys playing Diablo 4 Season 2 with friends. He didn't announce Game Pass for Blizzard games. Ybarra says the Microsoft merge is "start of a new era" for Blizzard. Livestream Video
      Here's the official stream, with all the content free to watch, and you can check out the official schedule here as well.
    • By Staff
      Players getting the free to play Warcraft Rumble on their mobile devices were greeted with a nice bonus! The game released a day early and those trying it out today found a Hearthstone card back and the WoW Gnomelia Battle Pet reward just for starting the game! 
      MiT_Epona posted the rewards screen, but the items are not yet unlocked in their respective games. Presumably this is due to the early launch and they will be arriving to players tomorrow, when Rumble was originally set to be launched. 

      Source: Rumble battle pet inc (don’t have in game yet).
    • By Staff
      It seems the Rumble just couldn't wait any longer! The Warcraft mobile game was scheduled to release tomorrow, but Blizzard pushed the button early and it has begun rolling out already! Plenty of players are reporting seeing it in their stores, but it's a rollout so it may take a while longer to get to you if it hasn't yet. 
      You can get the game here:
      Apple Store     Google Play
       
      If you're unfamiliar with it, you can check out the game overview here and here's a couple of videos as well, one with the basics and one with some recent updates.
       
       
    • By Staff
      Following their recent $69 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King, Microsoft is actively working to integrate and foster trust with their new teams. Key figures from Microsoft's leadership, including Phil Spencer, Matt Booty, and Sarah Bond, recently made their inaugural visit to Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California.
      During the visit, Phil Spencer took the opportunity to address the Blizzard staff. He emphasized that Xbox is in a phase where they are keenly listening to the needs and aspirations of the Blizzard team. Spencer further conveyed Microsoft's commitment to being a reliable partner for Blizzard, expressing a strong desire to support the studio in achieving its goals.
      Notably, observers at the event pointed out a distinct separation in branding between Activision and Blizzard. This has led to speculations about Blizzard possibly regaining some managerial autonomy in the future.
      You can read the full article over on Windows Central.
      Blizzard President Mike Ybarra and Global Community Lead Adam Fletcher even included some photos from the event/meeting on Twitter.
      Placeholder for tweet 1716936523395076605 Placeholder for tweet 1716934774902935669
×
×
  • Create New...