Former Developers Speak Out Against Bobby Kotick

There is no one quite as infamous as Bobby Kotick. On 29 December 2023, it was revealed that he would be stepping down as CEO of Activision Blizzard. This was a part of the company's acquisition by Microsoft and probably one of the biggest acquisitions of 2023. Now, with Bobby no longer at the company, many developers have decided to share their experiences with the former CEO, and things aren't pretty.

Christine Pollock, who has worked on numerous Call of Duty games, shared a Twitter post that seemed to shine a light on some of the CEO's more questionable decisions. According to the post, Christine says that the decisions made by Bobby Kotick "made our games worse". That's not even the worst of it because, in the same post, she revealed that within the first month of her working at the company, the former CEO had threatened to have an employee killed.

 

However, Christine Pollock isn't the only developer who has decided to break their silence on Bobby Kotick's behavior. Shortly after, Andy Belford, who was the Community Manager for Overwatch 2. In his tweet, he claims that he and his team warned Bobby Kotick about the backlash the Steam release of Overwatch would get and requested that they be given more resources to counteract the influx of negative comments, which they were flatly denied. He also shared that moderation for Steam was put onto the community team, which was not a part of their responsibility. He also described the work environment as incredibly disorganized and made zero sense.

Thanks to Andy and Christine, more and more developers have started speaking out about their experiences; even Kotaku senior editor Alyssa Mercante encouraged former Activision Blizzard employees to share their experiences with the company and its troubling CEO. Despite the many horror stories about the company, many fans have shown kindness and support to the former employees, wishing them success for the new year.

Sadly, even with all these developers finally speaking out against their mistreatment, none of this comes as a surprise. For years, fans have been begging for Kotick to step down, not because of his poor handling of projects but also due to his involvement in several scandals that have plagued the company. Many had hoped that the acquisition by Microsoft would make a difference, but that was not the case. If what the former developers are saying is true, then Bobby Kotick leaving the company could mean that things might take a turn for the better, but we will have to wait and see.

Daman Shelley (@UndeadandTired)
Editor, NoobFeed