Activision Blizzard's Kotick Slams Ex-EA Exec in Scathing Attack

Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard, recently slammed his counterpart at EA, John Riccitiello, labeling him "the worst CEO in video games" during a podcast appearance on Grit. While acknowledging EA's superior business stability compared to Activision's, Kotick expressed a preference for Riccitiello's continued leadership at EA, stating they "would have paid for Riccitiello to stay a CEO forever." This statement, made alongside former EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon, who hinted Riccitiello's leadership contributed to his own departure, highlights a surprising level of apprehension towards Riccitiello's potential replacement.

Riccitiello's departure from EA in 2013 followed a period of financial setbacks and layoffs. His tenure was marked by controversial proposals, including a suggestion to shareholders that Battlefield players pay per reload. He later served as CEO of Unity Technologies, leaving in 2023 amidst controversy surrounding installation fees. Further controversy surrounded his description of developers resistant to microtransactions as "the biggest f*cking idiots," for which he later apologized.

Kotick, who oversaw Activision Blizzard's $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed EA's multiple attempts to acquire Activision Blizzard. Despite acknowledging EA's stronger business model, Kotick's own tenure at Activision Blizzard was also marked by significant controversy, including employee complaints about sexism, a toxic work culture, and allegations of mishandling serious misconduct. While Activision Blizzard maintains that independent reviews found allegations of widespread sexual harassment and improper board handling to be unsubstantiated, a $54 million settlement was reached with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2023. The settlement noted that no court or independent investigation had substantiated allegations of systemic or widespread sexual harassment, or improper board actions.

In the same interview, Kotick also criticized the 2016 Warcraft film adaptation, calling it "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."