Robert Kotick is back in video games… at Microsoft

On December 31, 2023, Robert Kotick left Activision Blizzard after leading the company for thirty years. He managed to turn around a loss-making company and buy numerous studios to become one of the giants of the video game industry. However, his hunger did not stop there and he now aims higher. very high.

Kotic is far from unanimous among players and staff, particularly because of certain decisions and the way he treats those who get in his way. In 1990, he bought Activision on the verge of bankruptcy. In the years that followed, he bought several video game studios and grew the company.

One of its biggest successes was its merger with Vivendi’s gaming division, which then consisted of Blizzard and Sierra. Activision Blizzard was born in July 2008 and would become one of the largest video game companies in the world. Kotick would end his career at Apotheosis with an acquisition by Microsoft.

With an estimated net worth of $600 million, good old Bobby is a little bored and wants to keep himself busy. After a significant intervention in a potential takeover of Tik Tok in the United States, the Wall Street Journal believes it knows what Mr. Snake’s next target is: Microsoft.

With a market capitalization surpassing $3 trillion, Kotick is well aware that he can’t snap his fingers and storm the fort. On the other hand, it can speak to the power of money.

According to a document from the SEC, America’s financial markets policeman, Kotick is on the verge of getting his hands on 700,000 shares of the Redmond giant, worth an estimated $300 million, or less than half of his assets. .

This would automatically make him the second highest share holder behind Satya Nadella and his 801,331 shares (as of March 2024). He would really be obsessed with ousting the current CEO. On the other hand, he Bradford L. Smith (570,826 shares), the company’s president and vice-president, and Kathleen Hogan (159,764 shares), executive vice-president and director of human resources at Microsoft, will pass.

Many players and staff declared victory after Kotick’s departure. We know in particular that he is responsible, at least in part, for the bad decisions made for Overwatch 2, which severely damaged the reputation of the Blizzard Entertainment license.

What would Kotick do with such influence at Microsoft? His presence on the board of directors is no longer in doubt. He likely intends to slowly expand his influence at Microsoft and move to what he knows best: the gaming division currently run by Phil Spencer.

Between Bobby and Philo, there is no doubt that war has been declared and it will be filled with low blows.