Bobby Ain’t Leaving
There was somehow even more news about the sordid happenings that occurred behind the scenes of Activision Blizzard in the last week, despite there being more than enough to know of how bad of a company this is. The recent revelations focused on the man at the top in particular: Bobby Kotick. His reputation has never been good among the gaming audience, but few of those reasons for disliking him (the primary one being his focus on profits above all else) compared to what came to light in the last week.
The Wall Street Journal was first to break the details about how Bobby Kotick was fully aware of the sexual harassment and assault accusations that piled up in the company over the years, some of which came with substantial evidence. Another one was detailed in this story, which involved co-head of Treyarch Dan Bunting. Bunting was the subject of a 2019 internal investigation into claims that he harassed a female employee in 2017. His dismissal was recommended following that investigation, but it was none other than Kotick who intervened to ensure that he kept his job. Bunting departed the studio hours after the WSJ report went public.
This was the surest sign yet that the walls were closing in on Kotick. The WSJ’s story and other new details surrounding it were enough for Activision Blizzard employees to walk off the job, and collectively call for his resignation. Over 1,700 employees signed their names on a petition calling for the same. The company told the employees about a week ago that they could have the entire Thanksgiving week off, an obvious way to get ahead of the news that first started dropping on Tuesday. They didn’t fall for it. A group of company shareholders, who tend to hold more power than the employees who do all the work, joined them. Girls Who Code also ended their partnership with the company.
The news even prompted PlayStation Cief Jim Ryan to comment, saying in a company email that he was “disheartened and frankly stunned.” Head of Xbox Studios Phil Spencer went a bit further according to a company email sent to Bloomberg later confirmed to be authentic, by saying he was “disturbed and deeply troubled” at what was detailed in the story (notice the similar tone between the two company men here) and that “his type of behavior has no place in our industry.” Spencer additionally said Xbox would make “ongoing proactive adjustments” to its relationship with the company, though whatever that means is anyone’s guess.
Yet, at the head of Activision Blizzard Bobby Kotick remains. The PR segment released an insulting statement in which they described the WSJ article as “misleading” and claimed they’ve made significant improvements “at Mr. Kotick’s direction.” It’s a surprise they didn’t go all the way and call it “fake news” from the activist press, which is probably what they wanted to say. This statement was not enough to stop employees or shareholders from voicing their opinions on the matter, but it was just fine for the audience that really holds Kotick’s fate in their hands: Activision Blizzard’s Board of Directors.
The board is stacked with Kotick’s buddies for good reason. This is hardly the first time he’s gotten in serious trouble, like the incident where he subtly threatened to have a woman killed that I mentioned in my last post, or how his name (as “Boby Kotic” — a super-secret disguise) appeared in Jeffrey Epstein’s black book. Kotaku detailed the backgrounds of the other nine people who’ve observed the sordid actions Kotick has taken and didn’t think they were that problematic. As long as all these Kotick-friendly people remain, his position will be secure.
This is another example of how powerful people believe themselves to be infallible, a phenomenon we’ve seen with corporate types and the politicians they throw money at. We should live in a world where the workers who’ve lost faith in the higher-ups should have the power to toss out those above them. But we don’t, and Kotick is one of the key examples of this trend gone horribly awry.
As only a slight aside: The WSJ story also detailed how former co-leader of Blizzard Entertainment Jen Oneal was the victim of institutional gender inequality after being paid less than her male counterpart, Mike Ybarra. She was, remarkably enough, only offered parity when she announced her plans to resign at the year’s end, after just being appointed to the role in August 2021. In a slack conversation, she expressed no faith in the company’s leadership. It’s easy to see why given the details described above.
The WSJ reported over the weekend that Kotick met with Blizzard’s executives on Friday and told them that he would leave the company if their misconduct issues cannot be fixed “with speed.” This is a load of nonsense. There is no fixing the company’s problems when the guy at the top knew about and tried his damnedest to bury them over the years. He knows that, and there’s no chance that Blizzard’s execs don’t either. Unless the Call of Duty games that every non-Blizzard Activision company are working on stop selling, Kotick won’t feel the need to go anywhere and the board won’t eject him. Activision Blizzard will be stuck with him until he just feels like leaving or dies. Great company.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
