Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick aimed to smooth things over with a company meeting after employees had learned about the acquisition by Microsoft and Xbox through the press. However, it did not go as promised to and expected by the employees.
What was that meeting like? According to reports, employees were informed that the meeting was supposed to last 30 minutes. Since there was no live chat function, they had to submit their questions via email. These questions were then supposed to be answered during the meeting. However, it did not go as planned.
- Bobby Kotick arrived 7 minutes late to the meeting.
- During this time, he hardly addressed questions, mainly discussing the opportunities of the deal and that Microsoft was committed to hiring as many employees as possible.
- He also reiterated his future plans. He wanted to stay until the acquisition was completed. If necessary, even longer.
- He then ended the meeting after just 16 minutes. Even if you subtract the 7 minutes he was late, there would have still been more minutes left.
This and the statements made during the meeting did not exactly create calm among numerous employees. While some are rather unimpressed, others are now more concerned than before. This emerges from a report by the Washington Post.
Employees Fear Retaliation and That Kotick Will Stay
This is how the meeting went: Kotick talked about the future of the company, while Chief People Officer Julie Hodges read out questions from the employees’ emails in between.
To alleviate concerns about layoffs, Kotick stated that “the transition will proceed smoothly because [Microsoft] is committed to retaining as many employees as possible.”
After many employees recently demanded Kotick’s resignation and after there had already been layoffs at Activision, some now fear possible retaliatory terminations following this comment.
“All the fear and anger that one feels is still linked to Bobby Kotick and the damage he will do until the torch is passed to Microsoft,” said the Blizzard employee. “He compared Activision to his children, and I feel that he won’t let them go. Without mentioning the strike, the lawsuit, or any of the ongoing issues, there could have as well been no Q&A at all. We could have read a press release and slept 15 minutes longer.
via Washington Post
Hodges and Kotick also addressed the emailed questions regarding job security, salary changes, and Microsoft’s strategy regarding games, assuring employees jokingly that they would not switch to Microsoft Teams.
During the meeting, Kotick emphasized that he would leave only when the transition was complete and he felt it was the right time. This also did not result in cheers among the employees, as evidenced by an anonymous statement.
Some employees are therefore placing their hope in a swift acquisition by Microsoft and a departure of Bobby Kotick. However, he does not seem inclined, according to the statements, to pass on his company quickly.
Whether he will actually leave Activision Blizzard remains open. We will not know this anyway before 2023, as the deal is supposed to be finalized only upon completion of the fiscal year 2023.
Why is this such a big topic? Activision Blizzard has been involved in sexism scandals for months and is currently under investigation. In fact, CEO Bobby Kotick is personally embroiled and has faced allegations against him.
Hence, his resignation is being demanded by employees and investors and was speculated upon as soon as the deal was announced. Currently, it is assumed that he will not be CEO anymore once the deal is completed.
Activision Blizzard’s Acquisition by Microsoft Shakes the Gaming World
What exactly is going on? This is the situation:
- On January 18, it was announced that Microsoft intends to buy the video game developer Activision Blizzard – for around 70 billion US dollars.
- This is the largest deal in the gaming industry and gamers worldwide were taken by surprise by the news.
- With the announcement of the deal, many questions arose about what will happen next – what will happen with WoW and Call of Duty?
Some of these questions now have answers. For example, the Call of Duty shooter series is apparently set to continue to appear on PlayStation. Xbox head Phil Spencer already revealed this in an interview.
