UPDATE: It's possible Kotick might not remain CEO for long. In an interview with NYT reporter Karen Weise, Kotick said he'll be "available as needed" after the deal closes, which might not be for very long.
UPDATE 2: According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Kotick is expected to step down as Activision Blizzard CEO once Microsoft's deal to acquire the publisher goes through. Original story follows.
Microsoft is buying beleaguered publisher Activision Blizzard for the low, low price of just $68.7 billion. Both companies made the announcement earlier today in respective press releases, and both statements confirmed that CEO Bobby Kotick--the man accused of presiding over a culture of abuse and harassment at Activision--will somehow keep his job.
"Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth," read today’s statement. The only saving grace is that Kotick will soon report to Xbox head Phil Spencer, who has enjoyed a scandal free career.
How Kotick can retain his position despite being perhaps the most toxic man in gaming remains a bit of a mystery. Activision Blizzard's problems first started last summer after a California lawsuit accused the company of harboring a “frat boy workplace culture” rife with abuse and discrimination. Kotick managed to deflect much of the blame until a Wall Street Journal report implicated the Activision CEO directly in emails and interviews with former staffers. Accused of ignoring reports of harassment and even allegedly assaulting a former assistant, the report led to renewed calls for Kotick's ousting.
However, it seems like Microsoft has no plans to remove Kotick from his position. In fact, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told investors after the announcement that he was "grateful" for Kotick's "leadership and commitment to real culture change."
That change will have to start soon. The whole Call of Duty series is suffering thanks to an ongoing strike that has sidelined the entire Raven Software QA team. Without Raven, bugs and balance issues have started cropping up in both Warzone and Vanguard, with players calling for immediate action.
Xbox has a history of being hands-off when it comes to its studio purchases. In this case, Phil Spencer and his management team will have to be a little more hands-on.
TheGamer has opted to boycott coverage of Activision Blizzard games in the hopes that other sites will join us and that collectively we can cause meaningful change. We will continue to bring our readers updates of the buyout and will update our stance if and when Microsoft brings about structual changes at ABK. With Kotick remaining, we fear these necessary changes are unlikely.