Fans celebrate as Bobby Kotick leaves Activision
YouTube: CNBC TelevisionActivision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick will officially be leaving the gaming giant at the end of 2023, and the gaming community couldn’t be happier.
Under Kotick’s 30-year tenure as CEO, Activision has also been become one of the biggest game publishers in the world, but that hasn’t come without controversy.
The company has faced multiple sexual harassment suits and government investigations, and Activision employees staged walkouts that personally condemned him.
When Microsoft purchased Activision in 2022, with the deal set to be finalized in 2024, it was announced that the new era of Activision would move forward without Kotick as CEO. Now, his final days are literally approaching.
Kotick announces his final day at Activision in memo
In an internal memo, Bobby Kotick announced to the Activision employees that his final day would be December 29, 2023.
Addressed to “extraordinary people” Kotick lavished praise on Microsoft boss Phil Spencer, saying “As we move into our next exciting chapter, you could not be in better hands.”
He ends with “gratitude and appreciation,” telling the Activision workers that “I will always be profoundly grateful to the people who contributed tirelessly to building this company and I am confident that you will keep inspiring joy and uniting people through the power of play.”
Gamers expresses their joy at Kotick’s departure
Unfortunately, many gamers, influencers, and prominent members of the industry did not seem to be swayed with Kotick’s words.
Quite a few responded to the announcement with gifs of celebration and memes expressing their pleasure that the Activision CEO would finally be leaving the company.
Others expressed their hope that, under Microsoft’s leadership, the Activision team would have better working conditions.
However, others pointed out that Kotick would not be leaving Activision empty handed as he is poised to take home several hundred million dollars as a result of this sale.
Kotick’s departure leaves the state of Activision Blizzard in new leadership for the first time in decades. But in the opinion of many in the gaming community, the future for the publisher is looking bright.