Activision Blizzard's CEO Bobby Kotick is stepping down after Microsoft's acquisition

Since 1991, CEO Bobby Kotick has been the face of Activision, long before the company's successful acquisition of Blizzard. Now that Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard, it seems that Bobby Kotick isn't going to be sticking around to see the company's new chapter. In an announcement, Bobby Kotick has stated he will officially leave his post on December 29th, 2023.

The end of an era for Activision Blizzard's CEO, Bobby Kotick

As reported by The Verge, Activision Blizzard has been going through some restructuring after Microsoft's acquisition deal went through. The Redmond giant has been tasked with merging all of Activision Blizzard with its own Microsoft Gaming division, and for the most part, Activision Blizzard's organizational structure has stayed the same. However, a lot of the higher-up positions in Activision Blizzard have either been transferred elsewhere or cut out entirely.

As part of the merger, it has been revealed that Bobby Kotick is stepping down from his position as CEO of Activision Blizzard. As per an internal memo from Phil Spencer:

Earlier today, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick formally announced that Friday December 29th, 2023 will be his last day at Microsoft Gaming. Under Bobby’s watch, Activision Blizzard in its many incarnations has been an enduring pillar of video games. Whether it’s Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush Saga or any number of other titles, his teams have created beloved franchises and entertained hundreds of millions of players for decades.

With Microsoft now owning prime intellectual properties like World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Call of Duty, the company's position in the gaming market is stronger than ever before. And with all of Activision Blizzard now answering to Microsoft Gaming's president of game content Matt Booty, it'll be an interesting time for Xbox and PC gamers as we move into 2024.