Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is about to resign and has issued a statement.

One of the most controversial figures in the gaming industry, Bobby Kotick, recently announced to the company that he will leave his position on December 29th, officially stepping down as the CEO of Activision Blizzard.

In 1991, Bobby Kotick became the CEO of Activision through the acquisition of company shares. Under his leadership, Activision acquired numerous game studios including Blizzard, King, Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Raven Software, and more, ultimately transforming Activision into the large, well-known company we are familiar with today.

In addition to his aggressive business policies, he has also been embroiled in controversy due to some inappropriate comments, strong-arming game development practices—such as his involvement in the project management of Overwatch 2—and turning a blind eye to a culture of sexual harassment within the company. In 2022, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard. After a year of antitrust investigations, in October 2023, Microsoft finally obtained the last piece of the puzzle, completing the largest acquisition in gaming history.

In a letter addressed to employees, Bobby Kotick reflected on his tenure at Activision Blizzard and expressed his gratitude for the support and assistance of the team. He wished that, after joining Microsoft, Activision Blizzard would bring even more joy to players: "Combining with Microsoft will bring new resources and new opportunities to our extraordinary teams worldwide. It will also enable us to deliver more fun, more joy, and more connection to more players than ever before.”

The outgoing Activision Blizzard boss did not detail his next career moves, but thanked staff and praised the CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer.

Microsoft has not officially announced the new CEO candidate for Activision Blizzard. According to a report by the tech media outlet The Verge, Phil Spencer announced more personnel changes through an internal company memo, stating that many of the current senior executives at Activision Blizzard will leave after the transition period is completed in March of the following year. He is attempting to minimize the impact of these personnel changes on the general staff: “For most of you, your day-to-day work will remain the same.”

Additionally, a memo from Matt Booty announced some of the changes taking place at ZeniMax and Bethesda, including that Jill Braff has been named the new head of those studios.