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And the CEO remains the CEO.

smoldesu 5y ago
I'm baffled at how little shareholders have held Kotick's feet to the fire (and how little he's responded). I guess everyone who cared about company politics sold out when the accusations started flying...
- aphistic 5y ago
  He's close friends with many on the board, so they back him at every turn. The shareholders can't do anything when the board doesn't care what they have to say.
  - frostwarrior 5y ago
    At some point they should want their money back
  - smoldesu 5y ago
    Well yeah, but I really expected more out of them. They basically wrote a letter saying "please resign", Bob said "no", and then they said "oh okay, we have no further questions or statements at this time". Again, it reads to me like the majority of people are covering it up for financial/social benefit, or just completely disinterested in resolving their issues.
    - 2pEXgD0fZ5cF 5y ago
      If we ignore that Kotick probably has build himself a very comfortable nest there and is probably surrounded by supporters I believe that even if they wanted him gone there is probably a calculation lying around in the offices of a number of people that compares Koticks exit package vs. the immediate expected losses from the current damage to the brand (which probably ignores longtime effects, or expects things to just blow over).
claaams 5y ago
He needs to be fired. I want to play one of their games but I won't until bobby kotick is no longer the CEO. So never.
- tjpnz 5y ago
  I deleted my Blizzard account when they censored and banned a Taiwanese e-sports competitor for speaking out on Hong Kong. It's a shame because I had been planning to give WoW classic a try. Edit: While the tournament was held in Taiwan, Blitzchung is actually a native of Hong Kong.
  - chii 5y ago
    while i do understand the plight of HK's fight, it does make sense that a non-affiliated individual should not be able to make political statements on someone else's platform, unless with prior consent. The competitor should be free to make his case in his own platform(s), but not on a platform he doesn't own if the owners of that platform doesn't want to affiliate themselves with the political discourse.
    - gaganyaan 5y ago
      This is just appeasement. "Just don't make a fuss" is sticking your fingers in your ears as atrocities happen.
      - kodemager 5y ago
        I agree, but how do you boycott China? Every piece of hardware that I own has parts in them that was manufactured in China and where I live there aren’t alternatives. I too deleted my Blizzard account in the wake of the HK nonsense, but it’s not like I had bought anything from them since Diablo 3 released considering I refunded my Warcraft 3 remade, so it felt a little like virtue signalling that nobody probably noticed. Especially because we subscribe to Disney+ (I have young children), and I still buy a lot of things that were likely made by near (or possibly) slave labour. I know it’s still better to avoid what you can, but I can’t help but feel a little hypocritical about it. At least with Blizard it turned out to have been a very good call when their toxic culture was revealed.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Barrin92 5y ago
most important sign to me of a broken or decadent leadership culture is always when people in charge do not take responsibility for what happens under them. One would think that comes with being in charge in the first place.
jimbob45 5y ago
Because he’s led some of the highest growth of any company of the last two decades and there’s extremely limited evidence that he knew what was going on at just one of his subsidiary companies (and the least profitable one at that). Blizzard games don’t hold a candle to the money CoD, Madden, or Skylanders bring in. If Blizzard lets him go, someone else will snatch up his genius immediately.
- itsdrewmiller 5y ago
  Looks like returns are slightly below electronic arts (since 2009 anyway, around when Kotick started and after the crash), which seems like the best comp. EA has had two CEOs over that time frame. Maybe they were both geniuses too.
  - bananaboy 5y ago
    Kotick has owned Activision since 1991. Activision Blizzard was formed around 2008 from a merge. Perhaps that's what you're thinking of.
- 2pEXgD0fZ5cF 5y ago
  > extremely limited evidence that he knew What makes you say that? Every piece of info I encountered on the case suggests the opposite [1][2] In addition to that Kotick himself has been involved in such cases before and is no stranger to getting rid of victims [3] [1]: https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kotick-sexual-misconduct-allegations-11637075680 https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kot... [2]: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-16-activision-boss-bobby-kotick-under-fire-after-damning-report-into-what-he-knew-of-workplace-abuse https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-16-activision-bos... [3]: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kotick-a-flight-attendant-and-USD1-4m https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kotick-a-flight-attendant...
  - rndgermandude 5y ago
    >In addition to that Kotick himself has been accused of sexual harassment in the past and lost a legal case over it [3] I am not trying to defend Kotick, and am not saying his behavior then or now was alright. But the article you linked did not say he was accused of sexual harassment. And he did not lose a sexual harassment case either. Instead the article says that a guy named Berg, with whom Kotick co-owned a private jet, was accused of sexual harassment by a former stewardess. Kotick was named in the suit because he co-owned the company that owned the jet and he was the one who eventually fired the stewardess, and that was alleged to have been wrongful termination out of retribution for reporting Berg's alleged misconduct. Kotick himself, unlike Berg, was not accused of sexual harassment in this case. (It seems the entire thing was settled out of court eventually). The suit that was actually lost as per the article was a case brought by a former attorney for him and Berg, who sued them for non-payment of legal fees relating to the original sexual harassment case.
duped 5y ago
The fish rots from the head. I brought this up when I spoke to one of their talent sourcing folks last week. They really need to coach them on better replies because the dishonesty is a terrible look.
gonzo41 5y ago
Leadership starts and ends at the top. Sometimes it never starts. I do wonder if the games industry is close to wide-scale reckoning on working conditions. It really does just sound brutal and even more exploitative than Hollywood. I've personally suffered mild enterprise ERP burnout, but the kind of stuff I read about in the game industry is just next level.
- gjvc 5y ago
  Leadership starts and ends at the top. Sometimes it never starts. Yes, and gets imitated all the way down the org chart.

I'm baffled at how little shareholders have held Kotick's feet to the fire (and how little he's responded). I guess everyone who cared about company politics sold out when the accusations started flying...

aphistic 5y ago
He's close friends with many on the board, so they back him at every turn. The shareholders can't do anything when the board doesn't care what they have to say.
- frostwarrior 5y ago
  At some point they should want their money back
- smoldesu 5y ago
  Well yeah, but I really expected more out of them. They basically wrote a letter saying "please resign", Bob said "no", and then they said "oh okay, we have no further questions or statements at this time". Again, it reads to me like the majority of people are covering it up for financial/social benefit, or just completely disinterested in resolving their issues.
  - 2pEXgD0fZ5cF 5y ago
    If we ignore that Kotick probably has build himself a very comfortable nest there and is probably surrounded by supporters I believe that even if they wanted him gone there is probably a calculation lying around in the offices of a number of people that compares Koticks exit package vs. the immediate expected losses from the current damage to the brand (which probably ignores longtime effects, or expects things to just blow over).

claaams 5y ago

He needs to be fired. I want to play one of their games but I won't until bobby kotick is no longer the CEO. So never.

tjpnz 5y ago
I deleted my Blizzard account when they censored and banned a Taiwanese e-sports competitor for speaking out on Hong Kong. It's a shame because I had been planning to give WoW classic a try. Edit: While the tournament was held in Taiwan, Blitzchung is actually a native of Hong Kong.
- chii 5y ago
  while i do understand the plight of HK's fight, it does make sense that a non-affiliated individual should not be able to make political statements on someone else's platform, unless with prior consent. The competitor should be free to make his case in his own platform(s), but not on a platform he doesn't own if the owners of that platform doesn't want to affiliate themselves with the political discourse.
  - gaganyaan 5y ago
    This is just appeasement. "Just don't make a fuss" is sticking your fingers in your ears as atrocities happen.
    - kodemager 5y ago
      I agree, but how do you boycott China? Every piece of hardware that I own has parts in them that was manufactured in China and where I live there aren’t alternatives. I too deleted my Blizzard account in the wake of the HK nonsense, but it’s not like I had bought anything from them since Diablo 3 released considering I refunded my Warcraft 3 remade, so it felt a little like virtue signalling that nobody probably noticed. Especially because we subscribe to Disney+ (I have young children), and I still buy a lot of things that were likely made by near (or possibly) slave labour. I know it’s still better to avoid what you can, but I can’t help but feel a little hypocritical about it. At least with Blizard it turned out to have been a very good call when their toxic culture was revealed.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

Barrin92 5y ago

most important sign to me of a broken or decadent leadership culture is always when people in charge do not take responsibility for what happens under them. One would think that comes with being in charge in the first place.

jimbob45 5y ago

Because he’s led some of the highest growth of any company of the last two decades and there’s extremely limited evidence that he knew what was going on at just one of his subsidiary companies (and the least profitable one at that). Blizzard games don’t hold a candle to the money CoD, Madden, or Skylanders bring in. If Blizzard lets him go, someone else will snatch up his genius immediately.

itsdrewmiller 5y ago
Looks like returns are slightly below electronic arts (since 2009 anyway, around when Kotick started and after the crash), which seems like the best comp. EA has had two CEOs over that time frame. Maybe they were both geniuses too.
- bananaboy 5y ago
  Kotick has owned Activision since 1991. Activision Blizzard was formed around 2008 from a merge. Perhaps that's what you're thinking of.
2pEXgD0fZ5cF 5y ago
> extremely limited evidence that he knew What makes you say that? Every piece of info I encountered on the case suggests the opposite [1][2] In addition to that Kotick himself has been involved in such cases before and is no stranger to getting rid of victims [3] [1]: https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kotick-sexual-misconduct-allegations-11637075680 https://www.wsj.com/articles/activision-videogames-bobby-kot... [2]: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-16-activision-boss-bobby-kotick-under-fire-after-damning-report-into-what-he-knew-of-workplace-abuse https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-16-activision-bos... [3]: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kotick-a-flight-attendant-and-USD1-4m https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kotick-a-flight-attendant...
- rndgermandude 5y ago
  >In addition to that Kotick himself has been accused of sexual harassment in the past and lost a legal case over it [3] I am not trying to defend Kotick, and am not saying his behavior then or now was alright. But the article you linked did not say he was accused of sexual harassment. And he did not lose a sexual harassment case either. Instead the article says that a guy named Berg, with whom Kotick co-owned a private jet, was accused of sexual harassment by a former stewardess. Kotick was named in the suit because he co-owned the company that owned the jet and he was the one who eventually fired the stewardess, and that was alleged to have been wrongful termination out of retribution for reporting Berg's alleged misconduct. Kotick himself, unlike Berg, was not accused of sexual harassment in this case. (It seems the entire thing was settled out of court eventually). The suit that was actually lost as per the article was a case brought by a former attorney for him and Berg, who sued them for non-payment of legal fees relating to the original sexual harassment case.

duped 5y ago

The fish rots from the head. I brought this up when I spoke to one of their talent sourcing folks last week. They really need to coach them on better replies because the dishonesty is a terrible look.

gonzo41 5y ago

Leadership starts and ends at the top. Sometimes it never starts. I do wonder if the games industry is close to wide-scale reckoning on working conditions. It really does just sound brutal and even more exploitative than Hollywood. I've personally suffered mild enterprise ERP burnout, but the kind of stuff I read about in the game industry is just next level.

gjvc 5y ago
Leadership starts and ends at the top. Sometimes it never starts. Yes, and gets imitated all the way down the org chart.