Despite all of the news surrounding Bobby Kotick and Activision Blizzard, not all of it is good. There has been a ton of information that’s come out, revealing the leadership of the gaming giant to be littered with problematic and toxic people. CEO Bobby Kotick has been a particularly reviled individual in the wake of all this.
When news broke this week of a $70 billion deal to acquire the company through Microsoft, folks are very concerned. As many have pointed out, the main issue with all of the controversy is that the leadership of the C-level employees like Kotick is enabling abuse. And when Phil Spencer revealed that the CEO will remain in place as the chief of the company, people were understandably outraged. Bobby Kotick will remain in a secondary position, answering to Phil Spencer and the investors that now control the third-largest gaming entity in the world.
Employees both current and former have been quiet about the news to an extent, seemingly waiting to see what happens. Some public responses have come out, and they range from hopeful to outright fearful. At the time of writing, there’s no official statement from Activision Blizzard staff regarding their feelings on the acquisition.
“We are super nervous. pretty worried we’re gonna be lost in the shuffle and just told to deal with it,” said one QA tester on Twitter. It would seem like this is a disastrous possibility for the future of the company. After all, many companies undergo shuffling and mini-mergers in these kinds of big changes. So while Microsoft is busy claiming they’re making things better for the sake of PR, there’s a chance things stagnate.
it’s also worth noting that the deal isn’t even completed yet. The merger is not planned to be finished until later in 2023, pending regulatory approval by the US government. The investors also have to sign off on it, which could take time and effort to get. The timing of this move would suggest that Microsoft has big plans to change things at the company, as the investors may require such a move to sign off on the deal. We will have to wait and see, though.
