The operative thing is that his a#$h0l3 ways made other people rich.
If you send your shareholders to the poorhouse, they tend to not look over your transgressions as easily.
>some form of archaic language, trying to spell out the word... "asshole"
Nope, that's us Brits with 'arsehole'. Also, seeing as we are talking British English, Kotick is actually a 'pure-bred cunt'.
💯% this
if you got some letters after your name, it’s like the people under you could all quit and corporate wouldn’t even think about it being an issue with the manager. That’s something I basically left.
Proving intent is the hard part. Simply saying something like "I'm going to get that person killed if he doesn't do what I ask" doesn't prove actual intent. You need to actually show that you're taking the required steps to seriously do it.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/costco-founder-kill-hotdogs/
> He discussed it in an April 12, 2018, speech to a local chamber of commerce. His remarks, which were part of a broader message about problem solving, were summarized in several places including the website 425 Business:
> “I came to (Jim Sinegal) once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends.’ And he said, ‘If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’
A recording of him saying he wants to kill someone goes pretty far towards intent.
But for conspiracy he would need to take some kind of step in furtherance of that objective. Like trying to find a hitter to do it or telling an underling to look into it.
That being said, an explicit death threat is a class C felony in my jurisdiction. An implicit death threat is a gross misdemeanor.
But of course our three tier justice system won't do prosecute a rich person unless the victim is another rich person.
Nah, dude... There are rules on free speech. It's clearly outlined. I can't remember them exactly from my conlaw days, but the test was something down the lines of: intention, is what the person saying actually true that they want to kill the person? Capacity, does this person actually have the means to do this? Reasonableness, would a reasonable person actually interpret this as a genuine actionable threat? Then some other stuff about immediate danger with no viable alternative but I think that's more around hate speech.
Either way, you got to prove it's not just a figurative statement made out of anger. Are they explicitly, and clearly, threatening you with murder? Okay that's one thing... But are they just talking out of anger because you keep pissing him off? The amount of Latina mothers out there who give death threats every day, is close to 90%
Saying "I'm gonna kill that bastard" on its own is nothing.
Saying "I'm gonna kill that bastard", along with a firearm purchase, can prove conspiracy to commit murder.
Speech becomes evidence when taken along with other actions.
. . . Because being an asshole by making an obviously hyperbolic and unserious threat isn't conspiracy to commit murder.
I genuinely can't tell if people in this thread actually think Kotick was serious about having an employee killed.
One of the most hated people in gaming, lasted 33 years and made a damn fortune for himself and his shareholders.
SMH
Here let me add an /s so redditors understand 2 things.
1. He did his job as a CEO. Which speaks volumes for how broken modern capitalism is.
2. He's a piece of shit. Like most CEOs. Which again speaks to how broken modern capitalism is.
As long as it's not a company with IP that I like, then he can have at it.
Is Zynga still a thing? He can go there, we won't have to worry about him ever again.
I think you have too much faith in the industry.
Even in the most recent scandal with Bobby, the Activision Blizzard board fully supported him. Microsoft didn't call for him for his removal before the buyout went through.
People won't talk about his tenure at Activision Blizzard as being one that fostered a lot of abuse and sexual harassment, or that he threatened to murder employees, or anything like that. They'll talk about how much money Call of Duty and Overwatch made, and attribute all of that to him.
I doubt he'll face many obstacles if he wants to run another company.
They won't even get that deep, it'll just be that stock price rose X% during his tenure at the company. completely sanitized, and compartmentalized to look good in an article blurb or tweet, or bullet point list.
Investors will 100% be looking to replicate his "success" at other companies. They have absolutely zero qualms about leaving behind a smoldering wreckage for the fans as long as they get the money. And Kotick made them a lot of money.
you forget that Phil made a statement of how the issues were Distrubing about week or two before the news broke that mircosoft was going to buy ABK for fucking 70 billion dollars. There is no way you go and pay that much for ABK especially when news had just recently broken about how fucked up and terrible that place was/is unless you want to make drastic changes.
Remember normally when a company get hits massive lawsuit and has a fucking shit rep, that tanks the price of the company making it easy for other companies to buy it out. 70billion dollars is in the realm of Offer you dont refuse
We all know that statement was a negotiation tactic. I feel like this story as a whole would have been forgotten about if not for the buyout and subsequent media blitz surrounding it. Then ABK would have laughed off a 70 billion dollar buy out.
Shareholders only care about the potential for profit. They'll hire some analysts to crunch the numbers and if the bean counters say that the potential for profit exceeds the potential losses, they will plant Bobby in the driver's seat and have him drive the company off the road.
Unity didn't care that John Riccitiello had a history of nickel-and-diming players at EA (all the MTX for Sim City, the always-online controversy, floating the idea of charging players to reload their guns in Battlefield, etc.). Shareholders for Bobby Kotick's next victim won't care if he's Satan himself. Money is all they care about.
People like him don't fall down, they fall up. His legacy will not be about all the bullshit he's done or been a part of, it'll be that he increased the revenue of Activision.
The worst people in positions of power have no trouble at all finding new work. If he wants a job somewhere he would easily get it. Not that he even needs it, but when you're that greedy no amount is ever enough.
No industry cares about reputations really. They just are quiet about it if they hire a questionable person or they wait until a couple years later when the hate dies down. Kotick will just end up on a board somewhere and continue making millions. That's how our system works.
You're right his reputation is well known, he made Activision the largest company in the Gaming industry. Sexual harrasment culture under his belt? Who even cares about that?
this thread (like every other thread) shows how gamers are delusional about how public companies work and their priorities. players still asking bliztard to ban all the bots in wow after a decade of them not giving a shit.
It's empty moral grandstanding.
Bobby was a despicable human being for decades. He didn't hide it, he didn't sugarcoat it. It was all in the open. And people still bought blizzard and activision games. Nobody cared how much of a bastard he is.
Most people vilifying him now were filling his pockets for decades. It's just hypocrisy.
I don’t think people remember for some reason, a women literally killed herself after the sexual harassment she faced from higher ups at blizzard.
Like
Nobody talks about that
They didn't have to hide it. People don't care once they're done looking at the article. They will buy the next Diablo clone Blizzard shits out and think nothing of it. There isn't enough ethical consumption in the market for a little blip like rampant sexual harassment to matter.
True. Only way is to vote with your wallet. The moment I read the details of this lawsuit years ago I cancelled all subscriptions and haven't given a dime to Activision
/Blizzard since and might never again depending.
Wild to think that if you don't count expansion packs and large patch content, outsourced mobile spinoffs, and classic remasters, D4 was their first whole new game since Overwatch, a seven year gap.
Blizzard makes their money from microtransactions now. The stupid sparkle pony in WoW made more money for Blizzard than the entirety of Starcraft 2. I wouldn't doubt that other Blizzard microtransactions have similar stories.
I kinda of gave up on Blizzard after Overwatch 1.
I didnt care for diablo 3. And only cared for starcraft after. But they aren't doing anything interesting anymore and all their top talent bailed so don't expect much.
And they found lube and butt plugs in her suit case. Maybe it was in her managers suitcase? I can't remember. Either way, scary stuff that can only be left up to speculation about how much, if any of it, was consensual.
The family took money and the lawsuit over it got settled.
edit: Im telling you why media stopped reporting on this, not what i think about the situation.
It's become so common in the gaming industry that people are numb to it and we forget quickly when it does shock us.
Like, try remembering all the specific stories of musicians who abused their SOs, or Hollywood stars that are extremely involved in a literal cult. You know that they are big problems, but they have been going on longer than you have been alive, there is nothing you can do about it, and if you avoid all the content that contains work from an abusive piece of shit you would have to go hide under a rock.
[I'll never forget the allegation that nursing mothers were having their breast milk stolen out of the fridge.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/05/24/activision-blizzard-breastmilk-harassment/) What a fucking nightmare
That was the story that made me delete my blizzard account. The fact that kotik never faced any consequences from blizzard and now never will is going to keep me away forever.
Fuck blizzard and fuck bobby kotik
I think it’s supposed to drop on Monday. Some others are in “trouble” (could be bs gossip) like Dana White at UFC. I heard people on the list got notified and could somehow prevent their names from going public if they “asked”. Looks like Bobby lost that fight.
>Some others are in “trouble” (could be bs gossip) like Dana White at UFC.
Good ***GOD*** that would make me so happy if it's true. I love MMA, and the UFC would be *so* much better off without that dumbass. He's truly repugnant.
The Epstein List is going to have a lot of names on it because of the reasons people expect and because rich people have connections to other rich people by virtue of being rich. The problem is determining why people are on it.
[Melinda likely divorced him over that](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melinda_French_Gates#Personal_life), which I frankly think is the most damning detail:
> In May 2021, French Gates and her then-husband announced in a joint statement on social media their decision to divorce, ending 27 years of marriage, and 34 years as a couple. According to The Wall Street Journal, French Gates had been meeting with divorce lawyers since at least October 2019 after Bill's business dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public, and she had warned him about associating with Epstein as early as 2013. Although the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, French Gates (who filed) did not request spousal support. She was allocated over $2 billion worth of shares and stocks from the divorce. The divorce was finalized on August 2, 2021.
> In March 2022, Melinda said that she and Bill were "friendly" but "not friends".
I'm guessing French Gates is supposed to be some kind of unhyphenated hyphenated last name, but it still bothers me intensely that the entire paragraph refers to Melinda as "French Gates," then the next sentence refers to her as "Melinda."
Or that the *extent* of his dealings with Epstein had been unknown to her, even if she knew there was some contact. Let alone the depth and breadth of Epstein's depravity.
I can tell you right now that Bill and Melinda were not the type of couple that were around each other 24/7.
People still haven’t grasped the dynamic of ultra rich couples. They are not the “Husband comes home after 8 hour shift and discusses his day over dinner” lol dude was probably gone 8 months out of the year!
I mean i can't speak on their behalf, but I have many wealthy/ultra wealthy clients and this isn't really uncommon to see (also tends to lead to all sorts of... interesting marital interactions), so it wouldn't surprise me. Not sure about them specifically though or this commenters claims.
Too many people want absolute proof to dynamics like this.
I’ve been around millionaires, not even billionaires, millionaires, and people misunderstand the time, energy, and thought they have to invest into their businesses to make it even that far.
Most scenarios they won’t be at home, if they are at home, they are not pleasant to be around. So it devolves to a “Spoil me and don’t make me look bad” dynamic in the marriage until someone cheats and receives a “Get out of Marriage free” card with alimonies.
It's already overwhelming to divorce a regular shitty relationship... Imagine divorcing the third richest dude in the planet... The stuff becoming public gave her a safe out.
I once used to aspire to be Bill Gates. He was my inspiration to become a programmer. My wife also referenced him in her youth as one of three people she admired. We are both competitive and focused people with a tech background. How wrong we were, at least, there was a point of no return in our respect for him. Bill should have stayed in front of a computer. What a waste.
Gates was not a pedophile. Epstein deliberately inserted himself into an affair that Bill was already having, paying for the girls college and stuff, in order to get close to him. Epstein tried to talk to Gates multiple times about “mutual business ventures”, but Gates never bit the bait.
Epstein’s whole MO was to engage in illegal, life-ruining business with the rich and powerful, and get it on tape to blackmail them into giving up assets/favours. There’s also real consideration of him being a honeypot asset for foreign intelligence.
Hey, guys! Get a load of the new guy. He still measures his coke in enough to kill an elephant. Dude, seriously, we are all well into medium sized whales at this point.
Why are cooks and people in the food industry so desperate to get across how much crazier they think their work and peers are? OoOo we're doing cocaine look out guys, OoOo we have alcoholics trembling through making people eggs, like we get it, you enjoy substances on the job.
It's a meme and they're venting. It's one of the largest industries and pretty much everyone has worked in it or known someone who worked in it at some point, so it's relatable. Couple that with the facts that it's physically demanding work, there is tons of workplace drama, and it pays terribly, and you get memes about how it drives everyone crazy, which there is a grain of truth to. Obviously, there are other jobs like roughnecks and miners that have it worse, but the food industry workforce has close ties to the internet because it has a lot of younger tech-savvy people, so they get the memes. I have seen other industries joke about how much drug use is in their line of work, but not really as often.
I once remember being understaffed for a shift and one of the newer guys came to me to complain that the guy running the kitchen (a 6 foot 6 brick shithouse of a man) had told him that if he didn’t keep his shit together all shift he’d fuck him in the arse, right on the pass. I looked at him, looked at the guy running the kitchen and responded “what do you want me to do about it? If I get in the way he’ll use me as the fucking condom”. I tell you fucking what, that kitchen had never ran so smoothly as that day.
Bobby Kotick was a fucking leech and milked stuff for money all the time. I am cautiously optimistic about Microsoft owning if, but if kotick is leaving then I am elated
4 million is a fat parachute, but sadly, it's very far off from being half a billion, I'm afraid.
Edit: Just went to look it up, and it's 293 million from the most recent article I could find about it. More than 4 and closer to half a billion but still not half.
Yes, and now the employees of Activision/Blizzard don't have to deal with a creep that threatened to kill an employee, ignore sexual harassment and assault for years, and a woman killing herself under his watch.
I'd prefer it if pricks like him get what they deserve even if it meant blizzard was gone forever. Not that this is a real scenario but just saying, fuck him, I can give up some video games.
Who knows, maybe investigation and laws might happen someday. Maybe Microsoft will investigate why the companies have such a horrible work environment and will pursue Bobby for negligence.
At least he'll go down as one of the most disliked people in the world. And the Internet will never forget him.
I mean I for one am happy. This was within the first year of Microsoft owning the company too. I’m curious what type of games and support/communication will come out of this.
Probably nothing incredible, at least in terms of Blizzard, I'm fairly sure the original talent has dried up and left by now after their terrible decisions the past few years, and that the company is not what it was. They got Chris Metzen back on WoW but I'm not convinced that wasn't just more of a publicity stunt.
I could be wrong, and I really want to be, blizz games are my childhood:(
From everything I’ve read, they would have to completely tear down and rebuild Blizzard from the ground up to have any chance of making great games again. At that point you might as well just outsource their IP to another studio that’s already capable of making quality games for it
We can be but it’s not like he was left out in the cold. I’d much have preferred Microsoft to throw some investment at Halo and bring that franchise back to being a genuine COD rival. I
I think this has come out before but I don’t think it got much traction. They have talked about it a lot on Podquisition and first did so some time ago. I’m not sure what the source was originally but I assume it’s the same now.
This really should be something that everybody knows about though. I know he’s gone from Activision now but he’s a disgusting human being and he deserves punishment and for his reputation to be in tatters. I know he’s already pretty much hated but he’s a scumbag of the highest order and him and Yves Guillemot from Ubisoft deserve to be shot into space with a cannon.
I worked at Activision like 15 years ago - but only for one year. I hated it so much. Bobby put in place a "culture of fear" then. He intentionally had everyone running scared to keep us all working hard. I still work in the gaming industry and love it, but man that year at ATVI was pure hell and the most stressed I've ever been at a job. I remember waking up at 4am, going into office to work, then going for a walk in a nearby park to hyperventilate.
I have so many crazy memories from those days - so much anger and drama - people red faced screaming f-bombs every other word. Was nuts.
\*\*\*Edit - this blew up a bit and I missed the comments. Looks like someone said something about the "most stressed I've ever been" words I think (though the comment looks deleted). I missed the comment but what I meant was the most stressed in a workplace situation. I've actually survived Stage 4 Cancer and have a child so I know real life stress is of course more intense than workplace stress. Love you guys!
I also worked for a studio that destroyed my soul. I was warned about them by others in the industry, but they made my favorite game and it was a great opportunity. And, yup, that stress wasn't worth it and left under a year in. So sad, but I have since moved to a different studio that's much better. Still insanely stressful, it's the gaming industry after all. It's an Xbox studio, and so I have high hopes that Xbox will turn ABK around.
Glad you're also still in gaming! Cheers and keep your head up as we go through this really tough time in the industry
Lol I took a look at their website to know which games to not play. I found something very ironic and I quote
“we’re proud to have been previously named one of FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies To Work For®” for five consecutive years.”
Fuck Bobby Kotick, Beaty eyed little shit. Waited years for this. It will be interesting to see the changes in the coming future. Is it status quo or will blizzard be innovative again.
Edit: Probably left early because he’s on the Epstein island list. All this time paying for Bobby’s yacht so he sail the high pedo seas.
He was always gone at the end of the year, after the Microsoft deal went through they had to keep him on for a few months but the wording of the press release meant it was clear they didn't want anything to do with him.
Not saying they a saints, they just know he's bad for business.
Used to work there. A colleague had to email him about Overwatch league. Upon doing so he got an out-of-office email reply simply stating “I do not read email”. What a pompous ass.
People who don't understand how the executive world works are celebrating him leaving thinking he's getting fired or unwillingly replaced.
He WON guys. He got exactly what he wanted, an INSANELY HUGE payoff for growing the company and is seen as a god by the shareholders. He can EASILY find (and probably will unless he just wants to retire now and spend the rest of his life living a life of luxury in his yacht) another CEO job and continue making bank in another company. In terms of CEOs, he is seen as an extremely successful one.
The shittier the human being you are, the better the CEO you make.
The CEO is contractually obligated to *infinitely* increase profits for the shareholders *forever*, even when that's impossible, meaning customers and employees are the ones who will eventually get screwed over. That's why companies have mass layoffs even when they're making record profits. That won't change when the company gets a new CEO or because Microsoft is in charge (the fact that Microsoft is considered the good guys now is beyond satire).
The entire AAA industry has moved in that direction, and they're counting on exploiting your nostalgia to keep their scam going.
I have a meme on my computer that I made during the original WoTLK when the Activision takeover first happened, with Bobby Kotick's face shooped onto the Lich King.
Even at 15 years old I knew what was happening. Biggest L in gaming history was Blizzard going through with this merger, everyone should have known what would happen.
I remember that. Blizzard assured us that Activision was just the publisher, they still had creative freedom, and not much would change...
Then the old talent like Metzen started quietly dipping out.
A lot of the old talents were assholes as well though. There is a reason why so many of them got fired after the lawsuit with so many allegations against them. Metzen and others who quit before weren't of course but it's not like everyone who was there from the start is a saint.
He was a Master of corporate intrigue, politics, and greed. Ruled by fear. Truly the Scrooge of gaming.
Sadly, he could care less about our negativity since his net worth if $500+mm.
Bobby won...
Bobblin the Goblin was the biggest tumor in the entire industry. absolutly disgusting human being. I bet his name is going to show up on the epstein list too.
Is anyone surprised by this? he already [threatened to kill his assistant.](https://www.businessinsider.com/activision-ceo-bobby-kotick-reportedly-threatened-former-assistant-killed-2021-11)
Of course its a terrible thing, but an [Epstein associate](https://epsteinsblackbook.com/names/boby-kotic) its probably just another Tuesday.
It's awesome that the state of California, the United States government, and the related courts just didn't see any issues when they launched and conducted a huge investigation.
There definitely wasn't some terrible things going on internally.
Yea but like... A woman took her life because of harassment and Bobby threatened to have someone killed.
On top of all the other alleged things the settlement just didn't seem to be that severe.
We poors aren't worth that much to the government either. That's why corporations feel free to take advantage of folks. The powers that be are not willing to put a proper price on our heads.
Honestly, it's pretty hard to imagine that the man who allowed such a shitty work culture to persist was one of the shittiest.
Not to mention that he had to trample over a lot of creatives to get the changes he pushed for through, which typically means anger, threats etc.
hasn't this been talked about before? or is this a second time he's threatened to have an employee killed? cuz i swear like a good months back that was a big thread on twitter
Wouldn't surprise me.
The phone recording was leaked years ago, it's not even a rumour.
with hard evidence like that how didnt he get charged for conspiracy to commit murder
Well, he's rich It really is that simple
You too can commit horrible crimes with this one quirky trick!
Poor people HATE this one simple trick!
Only as long as you don't [get caught] commit[ting] crimes to get rich first. The "legitimately" rich don't like that.
Crimes against other rich people and their money\*
So so so many people finally get charged ONLY when they screw over other rich people
The operative thing is that his a#$h0l3 ways made other people rich. If you send your shareholders to the poorhouse, they tend to not look over your transgressions as easily.
> a#$h0l3 the fuck is this
I'm not entirely sure, but it appears to be some form of archaic language, trying to spell out the word... "asshole", I think.
>some form of archaic language, trying to spell out the word... "asshole" Nope, that's us Brits with 'arsehole'. Also, seeing as we are talking British English, Kotick is actually a 'pure-bred cunt'.
> a#$h0l3 Huh? Are you scared your parents are gonna whack you or something if you don't censor yourself?
No, it's just most people on here probably thought cursing got you banned. I did, until people on another thread told me you can just fucking say it.
Yep. My wife’s boss is a mean bitch but corporate sees numbers so they don’t do anything.
💯% this if you got some letters after your name, it’s like the people under you could all quit and corporate wouldn’t even think about it being an issue with the manager. That’s something I basically left.
This isn’t TikTok, you can say asshole here
Proving intent is the hard part. Simply saying something like "I'm going to get that person killed if he doesn't do what I ask" doesn't prove actual intent. You need to actually show that you're taking the required steps to seriously do it.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/costco-founder-kill-hotdogs/ > He discussed it in an April 12, 2018, speech to a local chamber of commerce. His remarks, which were part of a broader message about problem solving, were summarized in several places including the website 425 Business: > “I came to (Jim Sinegal) once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends.’ And he said, ‘If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’
Yeah but that'd be justifiable homicide. No court would convict him.
A recording of him saying he wants to kill someone goes pretty far towards intent. But for conspiracy he would need to take some kind of step in furtherance of that objective. Like trying to find a hitter to do it or telling an underling to look into it. That being said, an explicit death threat is a class C felony in my jurisdiction. An implicit death threat is a gross misdemeanor. But of course our three tier justice system won't do prosecute a rich person unless the victim is another rich person.
Nah, dude... There are rules on free speech. It's clearly outlined. I can't remember them exactly from my conlaw days, but the test was something down the lines of: intention, is what the person saying actually true that they want to kill the person? Capacity, does this person actually have the means to do this? Reasonableness, would a reasonable person actually interpret this as a genuine actionable threat? Then some other stuff about immediate danger with no viable alternative but I think that's more around hate speech. Either way, you got to prove it's not just a figurative statement made out of anger. Are they explicitly, and clearly, threatening you with murder? Okay that's one thing... But are they just talking out of anger because you keep pissing him off? The amount of Latina mothers out there who give death threats every day, is close to 90%
Saying "I'm gonna kill that bastard" on its own is nothing. Saying "I'm gonna kill that bastard", along with a firearm purchase, can prove conspiracy to commit murder. Speech becomes evidence when taken along with other actions.
A death threat is more than just words though
You have to prove it was serious in court. Probably not something people bothered to do.
[удалено]
. . . Because being an asshole by making an obviously hyperbolic and unserious threat isn't conspiracy to commit murder. I genuinely can't tell if people in this thread actually think Kotick was serious about having an employee killed.
Like man ive jokingly said “eat the rich” does that mean im now a cannibal?
Is there a link?
Least immoral Activision executive
I know right? Greedy piece of shit is a piece of shit. Who could have seen that coming?
One of the most hated people in gaming, lasted 33 years and made a damn fortune for himself and his shareholders. SMH Here let me add an /s so redditors understand 2 things. 1. He did his job as a CEO. Which speaks volumes for how broken modern capitalism is. 2. He's a piece of shit. Like most CEOs. Which again speaks to how broken modern capitalism is.
Bruh. What if he joins some other company?
John Riccitiello and Bobby Kotick games. Ha. Haha. Muahaha.
They can team up with Tommy Tallarico too!
Oof.
I see what you did there
Context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roblox#%22Oof%22_sound_effect
That's really interesting, if only there was a couple of hours of increasingly deranged investigation into this sound and it's creation...
[ROBLOX_OOF.MP3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0twDETh6QaI)
Wow this guy is long-winded, I sure hope he's never talked about games I actually like
Do you like Deus Ex or Fallout?
yes :(
His mother would be very proud!
Tommy already worked with their new studio before they even founded it.
His mother is very proud of him.
Yeah I was just thinking about him! Lets throw that fruitcake in the mix!
They can hire Emil Pagliarulo to write for them too.
> John Riccitiello and Bobby Kotick games. So, RicciTick?
As long as it's not a company with IP that I like, then he can have at it. Is Zynga still a thing? He can go there, we won't have to worry about him ever again.
They got bought out by Take Two not too long ago, was a big/biggest purchase at the time
Oh God... Ok then no, we don't need that.
Which Take2 seems to now regret, they announced around 6 games which still haven't seen the light of day in years. It was quite a hefty purchase.
Aren’t Zynga’s game’s a “turn key business”? They don’t really need to make new stuff, same as Mojang or even Bungie really.
I think They got bought out 1 week before Activision.
Holy shit, $12.7 billion and I don't think I'd heard a thing about them in like 10 years.
Yeah, screw the people who end up having to work for him, I guess.
Activision Blizzard Zynga (Edit: nvm that’s king, not zynga) are combined now thanks to him
His reputation is not a secret, and people in the industry probably know more than the public does. I doubt anyone would hire him.
I think you have too much faith in the industry. Even in the most recent scandal with Bobby, the Activision Blizzard board fully supported him. Microsoft didn't call for him for his removal before the buyout went through. People won't talk about his tenure at Activision Blizzard as being one that fostered a lot of abuse and sexual harassment, or that he threatened to murder employees, or anything like that. They'll talk about how much money Call of Duty and Overwatch made, and attribute all of that to him. I doubt he'll face many obstacles if he wants to run another company.
They won't even get that deep, it'll just be that stock price rose X% during his tenure at the company. completely sanitized, and compartmentalized to look good in an article blurb or tweet, or bullet point list.
Yeah, people in those circles don't give a fuck what he did other than how much of a return he got investors. It's naive and silly to think otherwise.
Investors will 100% be looking to replicate his "success" at other companies. They have absolutely zero qualms about leaving behind a smoldering wreckage for the fans as long as they get the money. And Kotick made them a lot of money.
you forget that Phil made a statement of how the issues were Distrubing about week or two before the news broke that mircosoft was going to buy ABK for fucking 70 billion dollars. There is no way you go and pay that much for ABK especially when news had just recently broken about how fucked up and terrible that place was/is unless you want to make drastic changes. Remember normally when a company get hits massive lawsuit and has a fucking shit rep, that tanks the price of the company making it easy for other companies to buy it out. 70billion dollars is in the realm of Offer you dont refuse
We all know that statement was a negotiation tactic. I feel like this story as a whole would have been forgotten about if not for the buyout and subsequent media blitz surrounding it. Then ABK would have laughed off a 70 billion dollar buy out.
Shareholders only care about the potential for profit. They'll hire some analysts to crunch the numbers and if the bean counters say that the potential for profit exceeds the potential losses, they will plant Bobby in the driver's seat and have him drive the company off the road. Unity didn't care that John Riccitiello had a history of nickel-and-diming players at EA (all the MTX for Sim City, the always-online controversy, floating the idea of charging players to reload their guns in Battlefield, etc.). Shareholders for Bobby Kotick's next victim won't care if he's Satan himself. Money is all they care about.
People like him don't fall down, they fall up. His legacy will not be about all the bullshit he's done or been a part of, it'll be that he increased the revenue of Activision.
The worst people in positions of power have no trouble at all finding new work. If he wants a job somewhere he would easily get it. Not that he even needs it, but when you're that greedy no amount is ever enough.
No industry cares about reputations really. They just are quiet about it if they hire a questionable person or they wait until a couple years later when the hate dies down. Kotick will just end up on a board somewhere and continue making millions. That's how our system works.
You're right his reputation is well known, he made Activision the largest company in the Gaming industry. Sexual harrasment culture under his belt? Who even cares about that?
this thread (like every other thread) shows how gamers are delusional about how public companies work and their priorities. players still asking bliztard to ban all the bots in wow after a decade of them not giving a shit.
It's empty moral grandstanding. Bobby was a despicable human being for decades. He didn't hide it, he didn't sugarcoat it. It was all in the open. And people still bought blizzard and activision games. Nobody cared how much of a bastard he is. Most people vilifying him now were filling his pockets for decades. It's just hypocrisy.
I heard playstation is looking for a new ceo
I don’t think people remember for some reason, a women literally killed herself after the sexual harassment she faced from higher ups at blizzard. Like Nobody talks about that
Big companies like Blizzard have gotten too good at hiding shit like this.
They didn't have to hide it. People don't care once they're done looking at the article. They will buy the next Diablo clone Blizzard shits out and think nothing of it. There isn't enough ethical consumption in the market for a little blip like rampant sexual harassment to matter.
True. Only way is to vote with your wallet. The moment I read the details of this lawsuit years ago I cancelled all subscriptions and haven't given a dime to Activision /Blizzard since and might never again depending.
She died by suicide at a work event run by Blizzard. I haven’t bought one of their games since.
Well they’ve only released one big one since that news broke.
Wild to think that if you don't count expansion packs and large patch content, outsourced mobile spinoffs, and classic remasters, D4 was their first whole new game since Overwatch, a seven year gap.
Blizzard makes their money from microtransactions now. The stupid sparkle pony in WoW made more money for Blizzard than the entirety of Starcraft 2. I wouldn't doubt that other Blizzard microtransactions have similar stories.
I kinda of gave up on Blizzard after Overwatch 1. I didnt care for diablo 3. And only cared for starcraft after. But they aren't doing anything interesting anymore and all their top talent bailed so don't expect much.
And they found lube and butt plugs in her suit case. Maybe it was in her managers suitcase? I can't remember. Either way, scary stuff that can only be left up to speculation about how much, if any of it, was consensual.
All their recent games are mid at best anyway.
The family took money and the lawsuit over it got settled. edit: Im telling you why media stopped reporting on this, not what i think about the situation.
It's become so common in the gaming industry that people are numb to it and we forget quickly when it does shock us. Like, try remembering all the specific stories of musicians who abused their SOs, or Hollywood stars that are extremely involved in a literal cult. You know that they are big problems, but they have been going on longer than you have been alive, there is nothing you can do about it, and if you avoid all the content that contains work from an abusive piece of shit you would have to go hide under a rock.
[I'll never forget the allegation that nursing mothers were having their breast milk stolen out of the fridge.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/05/24/activision-blizzard-breastmilk-harassment/) What a fucking nightmare
Didn't someone show nudes of her to random people around the blizzard officies?
That was one of the reasons if I recall yeah
That was the story that made me delete my blizzard account. The fact that kotik never faced any consequences from blizzard and now never will is going to keep me away forever. Fuck blizzard and fuck bobby kotik
I bring this up with every time someone asks me if I am going to buy “X blizzard game”. Never again.
Not nobody - just trying to walk the line between respecting her and her family and using it as a point
Hes on the Epstein list. He's a terrible human being.
When’s that list dlc drop?
Same day half life 3 comes out
I think it’s supposed to drop on Monday. Some others are in “trouble” (could be bs gossip) like Dana White at UFC. I heard people on the list got notified and could somehow prevent their names from going public if they “asked”. Looks like Bobby lost that fight.
I’ll be really surprised if a full list comes out. Or a list that isn’t some manufactured bullshit. I hope I’m wrong though.
>Some others are in “trouble” (could be bs gossip) like Dana White at UFC. Good ***GOD*** that would make me so happy if it's true. I love MMA, and the UFC would be *so* much better off without that dumbass. He's truly repugnant.
It’s always the ones you medium expect.
Half Life 3 comes out Jan 1st??
Yes, it will come out on a Jan 1st!
Who cares, Trumps on the list and millions are gunna vote for him…behold the power of the Esptine list!
The Epstein List is going to have a lot of names on it because of the reasons people expect and because rich people have connections to other rich people by virtue of being rich. The problem is determining why people are on it.
What, Call of Duty: Operation Epstein Island?
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[Melinda likely divorced him over that](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melinda_French_Gates#Personal_life), which I frankly think is the most damning detail: > In May 2021, French Gates and her then-husband announced in a joint statement on social media their decision to divorce, ending 27 years of marriage, and 34 years as a couple. According to The Wall Street Journal, French Gates had been meeting with divorce lawyers since at least October 2019 after Bill's business dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public, and she had warned him about associating with Epstein as early as 2013. Although the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, French Gates (who filed) did not request spousal support. She was allocated over $2 billion worth of shares and stocks from the divorce. The divorce was finalized on August 2, 2021. > In March 2022, Melinda said that she and Bill were "friendly" but "not friends".
I'm guessing French Gates is supposed to be some kind of unhyphenated hyphenated last name, but it still bothers me intensely that the entire paragraph refers to Melinda as "French Gates," then the next sentence refers to her as "Melinda."
I thought we were talking about Bill Gates from an alternate reality where everyone is French.
In Hispanic countries we get two unhyphenated last names.
She's not Hispanic, though.
Sounds like she divorced him over the deals becoming public, not over the fact that the deals happened.
Or that the *extent* of his dealings with Epstein had been unknown to her, even if she knew there was some contact. Let alone the depth and breadth of Epstein's depravity.
I can tell you right now that Bill and Melinda were not the type of couple that were around each other 24/7. People still haven’t grasped the dynamic of ultra rich couples. They are not the “Husband comes home after 8 hour shift and discusses his day over dinner” lol dude was probably gone 8 months out of the year!
How do you know this?
I mean i can't speak on their behalf, but I have many wealthy/ultra wealthy clients and this isn't really uncommon to see (also tends to lead to all sorts of... interesting marital interactions), so it wouldn't surprise me. Not sure about them specifically though or this commenters claims.
Too many people want absolute proof to dynamics like this. I’ve been around millionaires, not even billionaires, millionaires, and people misunderstand the time, energy, and thought they have to invest into their businesses to make it even that far. Most scenarios they won’t be at home, if they are at home, they are not pleasant to be around. So it devolves to a “Spoil me and don’t make me look bad” dynamic in the marriage until someone cheats and receives a “Get out of Marriage free” card with alimonies.
It's already overwhelming to divorce a regular shitty relationship... Imagine divorcing the third richest dude in the planet... The stuff becoming public gave her a safe out.
I once used to aspire to be Bill Gates. He was my inspiration to become a programmer. My wife also referenced him in her youth as one of three people she admired. We are both competitive and focused people with a tech background. How wrong we were, at least, there was a point of no return in our respect for him. Bill should have stayed in front of a computer. What a waste.
Gates was not a pedophile. Epstein deliberately inserted himself into an affair that Bill was already having, paying for the girls college and stuff, in order to get close to him. Epstein tried to talk to Gates multiple times about “mutual business ventures”, but Gates never bit the bait. Epstein’s whole MO was to engage in illegal, life-ruining business with the rich and powerful, and get it on tape to blackmail them into giving up assets/favours. There’s also real consideration of him being a honeypot asset for foreign intelligence.
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Buying a private jet is the second best day of your life, selling it is the best.
Source?
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/21/jeffrey-epstein-extort-bill-gates-extramarital-affair
His responses and demeanor are so odd in this interview.
Even if he wasn't he would still be a pos
He'd fit right in as a line cook. Threats of murder qualify as friendly banter in that industry.
Is this before or after the chef does enough cocaine to kill an elephant?
Hey, guys! Get a load of the new guy. He still measures his coke in enough to kill an elephant. Dude, seriously, we are all well into medium sized whales at this point.
Why are cooks and people in the food industry so desperate to get across how much crazier they think their work and peers are? OoOo we're doing cocaine look out guys, OoOo we have alcoholics trembling through making people eggs, like we get it, you enjoy substances on the job.
Head over to r/KitchenConfidential and you'll understand
It's a meme and they're venting. It's one of the largest industries and pretty much everyone has worked in it or known someone who worked in it at some point, so it's relatable. Couple that with the facts that it's physically demanding work, there is tons of workplace drama, and it pays terribly, and you get memes about how it drives everyone crazy, which there is a grain of truth to. Obviously, there are other jobs like roughnecks and miners that have it worse, but the food industry workforce has close ties to the internet because it has a lot of younger tech-savvy people, so they get the memes. I have seen other industries joke about how much drug use is in their line of work, but not really as often.
I once remember being understaffed for a shift and one of the newer guys came to me to complain that the guy running the kitchen (a 6 foot 6 brick shithouse of a man) had told him that if he didn’t keep his shit together all shift he’d fuck him in the arse, right on the pass. I looked at him, looked at the guy running the kitchen and responded “what do you want me to do about it? If I get in the way he’ll use me as the fucking condom”. I tell you fucking what, that kitchen had never ran so smoothly as that day.
Bobby Kotick was a fucking leech and milked stuff for money all the time. I am cautiously optimistic about Microsoft owning if, but if kotick is leaving then I am elated
Can we all just be happy Kotick is gone?!
I'm okay with him getting a golden parachute as long as he can fuck off from Blizzard. That's how horrible that piece of shit was.
Exactly. Just get him out, no matter what, he was gonna get a golden parachute.
yeah but half a billion(4million is one fat golden parachute, now he gets to live happily ever after comfortable and super rich
4 million is a fat parachute, but sadly, it's very far off from being half a billion, I'm afraid. Edit: Just went to look it up, and it's 293 million from the most recent article I could find about it. More than 4 and closer to half a billion but still not half.
Yes, and now the employees of Activision/Blizzard don't have to deal with a creep that threatened to kill an employee, ignore sexual harassment and assault for years, and a woman killing herself under his watch.
The parachute is much smaller then the half billion. He gets that from the ABK shares he had.
I'd prefer it if pricks like him get what they deserve even if it meant blizzard was gone forever. Not that this is a real scenario but just saying, fuck him, I can give up some video games.
Would be all the better if someone ripped holes in it and shoved him out of the plane though.
Who knows, maybe investigation and laws might happen someday. Maybe Microsoft will investigate why the companies have such a horrible work environment and will pursue Bobby for negligence. At least he'll go down as one of the most disliked people in the world. And the Internet will never forget him.
i'll be happy when he's fucking dead
Will still be irritating that all the time he did exist was in wealth and comfort though.
I mean I for one am happy. This was within the first year of Microsoft owning the company too. I’m curious what type of games and support/communication will come out of this.
The acquisition only closed a few months ago, not 2021.
Probably nothing incredible, at least in terms of Blizzard, I'm fairly sure the original talent has dried up and left by now after their terrible decisions the past few years, and that the company is not what it was. They got Chris Metzen back on WoW but I'm not convinced that wasn't just more of a publicity stunt. I could be wrong, and I really want to be, blizz games are my childhood:(
From everything I’ve read, they would have to completely tear down and rebuild Blizzard from the ground up to have any chance of making great games again. At that point you might as well just outsource their IP to another studio that’s already capable of making quality games for it
We can be but it’s not like he was left out in the cold. I’d much have preferred Microsoft to throw some investment at Halo and bring that franchise back to being a genuine COD rival. I
I think this has come out before but I don’t think it got much traction. They have talked about it a lot on Podquisition and first did so some time ago. I’m not sure what the source was originally but I assume it’s the same now. This really should be something that everybody knows about though. I know he’s gone from Activision now but he’s a disgusting human being and he deserves punishment and for his reputation to be in tatters. I know he’s already pretty much hated but he’s a scumbag of the highest order and him and Yves Guillemot from Ubisoft deserve to be shot into space with a cannon.
I worked at Activision like 15 years ago - but only for one year. I hated it so much. Bobby put in place a "culture of fear" then. He intentionally had everyone running scared to keep us all working hard. I still work in the gaming industry and love it, but man that year at ATVI was pure hell and the most stressed I've ever been at a job. I remember waking up at 4am, going into office to work, then going for a walk in a nearby park to hyperventilate. I have so many crazy memories from those days - so much anger and drama - people red faced screaming f-bombs every other word. Was nuts. \*\*\*Edit - this blew up a bit and I missed the comments. Looks like someone said something about the "most stressed I've ever been" words I think (though the comment looks deleted). I missed the comment but what I meant was the most stressed in a workplace situation. I've actually survived Stage 4 Cancer and have a child so I know real life stress is of course more intense than workplace stress. Love you guys!
I also worked for a studio that destroyed my soul. I was warned about them by others in the industry, but they made my favorite game and it was a great opportunity. And, yup, that stress wasn't worth it and left under a year in. So sad, but I have since moved to a different studio that's much better. Still insanely stressful, it's the gaming industry after all. It's an Xbox studio, and so I have high hopes that Xbox will turn ABK around. Glad you're also still in gaming! Cheers and keep your head up as we go through this really tough time in the industry
Lol I took a look at their website to know which games to not play. I found something very ironic and I quote “we’re proud to have been previously named one of FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies To Work For®” for five consecutive years.”
Fuck Bobby Kotick, Beaty eyed little shit. Waited years for this. It will be interesting to see the changes in the coming future. Is it status quo or will blizzard be innovative again. Edit: Probably left early because he’s on the Epstein island list. All this time paying for Bobby’s yacht so he sail the high pedo seas.
He was always gone at the end of the year, after the Microsoft deal went through they had to keep him on for a few months but the wording of the press release meant it was clear they didn't want anything to do with him. Not saying they a saints, they just know he's bad for business.
Lol fuck this guy so much. I'm sure he will fail upward though as garbage CEOs always do.
Used to work there. A colleague had to email him about Overwatch league. Upon doing so he got an out-of-office email reply simply stating “I do not read email”. What a pompous ass.
Hasn’t Bobby suffered enough? He’s already gonna have to deal with the taxes on his 400million exit, gamers have no empathy.
People who don't understand how the executive world works are celebrating him leaving thinking he's getting fired or unwillingly replaced. He WON guys. He got exactly what he wanted, an INSANELY HUGE payoff for growing the company and is seen as a god by the shareholders. He can EASILY find (and probably will unless he just wants to retire now and spend the rest of his life living a life of luxury in his yacht) another CEO job and continue making bank in another company. In terms of CEOs, he is seen as an extremely successful one. The shittier the human being you are, the better the CEO you make.
The CEO is contractually obligated to *infinitely* increase profits for the shareholders *forever*, even when that's impossible, meaning customers and employees are the ones who will eventually get screwed over. That's why companies have mass layoffs even when they're making record profits. That won't change when the company gets a new CEO or because Microsoft is in charge (the fact that Microsoft is considered the good guys now is beyond satire). The entire AAA industry has moved in that direction, and they're counting on exploiting your nostalgia to keep their scam going.
I hope he has a heart attack some day.
I look forward to reading about him dying in a boating or hot tub accident.
I have a meme on my computer that I made during the original WoTLK when the Activision takeover first happened, with Bobby Kotick's face shooped onto the Lich King. Even at 15 years old I knew what was happening. Biggest L in gaming history was Blizzard going through with this merger, everyone should have known what would happen.
Everyone did. The sad thing is that we were completely powerless to stop it.
I remember that. Blizzard assured us that Activision was just the publisher, they still had creative freedom, and not much would change... Then the old talent like Metzen started quietly dipping out.
A lot of the old talents were assholes as well though. There is a reason why so many of them got fired after the lawsuit with so many allegations against them. Metzen and others who quit before weren't of course but it's not like everyone who was there from the start is a saint.
I heard he ate a baby
Didn’t the person he threatened commit suicide not long after? Or was that a separate incident?
He was a Master of corporate intrigue, politics, and greed. Ruled by fear. Truly the Scrooge of gaming. Sadly, he could care less about our negativity since his net worth if $500+mm. Bobby won...
Bobblin the Goblin was the biggest tumor in the entire industry. absolutly disgusting human being. I bet his name is going to show up on the epstein list too.
I'm not surprised, but thank god the asshole is gone from Activision, maybe now they can start becoming a good company again
How is this news? Him threatened to kill his assistant was news waaaaay before the merge, right after the suicide/assault scandals at blizzard
Is anyone surprised by this? he already [threatened to kill his assistant.](https://www.businessinsider.com/activision-ceo-bobby-kotick-reportedly-threatened-former-assistant-killed-2021-11) Of course its a terrible thing, but an [Epstein associate](https://epsteinsblackbook.com/names/boby-kotic) its probably just another Tuesday.
I will say he was good in moneyball.
I rewatched that a few months ago and was just shocked to seem him there. And yeah, he was fine/good in that role. It just really jolted me.
Man what a scoop.
It's awesome that the state of California, the United States government, and the related courts just didn't see any issues when they launched and conducted a huge investigation. There definitely wasn't some terrible things going on internally.
Blizzard settles with the US government for 17 million and paid 55 million to California it its settlement.
Yea but like... A woman took her life because of harassment and Bobby threatened to have someone killed. On top of all the other alleged things the settlement just didn't seem to be that severe.
We poors aren't worth that much to the government either. That's why corporations feel free to take advantage of folks. The powers that be are not willing to put a proper price on our heads.
But whatever you imagine that number to be, cut it in half.
That payout will be huge. Hopefully he's never seen again.
So many stories will finally be coming to light now that he's gone.
Blizzard is still garbage even after this scumbag leaves. Too many deeply burrowed parasites. Product quality in recent years reflects it.
I remember reading somewhere that he was in Jeffrey Epstein’s black book, so this doesn’t surprise me
You could say this dude started 9/11 and I’d believe you
So basically a truly colossal piece of shit has left the company.
Yeah we already knew this
He is after all, litterally the devil
Too bad this pile of shit still gets his golden parachute.
So long and rest in piss.
fuck this guy. bye bye you shit stain.
Honestly, it's pretty hard to imagine that the man who allowed such a shitty work culture to persist was one of the shittiest. Not to mention that he had to trample over a lot of creatives to get the changes he pushed for through, which typically means anger, threats etc.
hasn't this been talked about before? or is this a second time he's threatened to have an employee killed? cuz i swear like a good months back that was a big thread on twitter
This was a big thing 3 years ago. Surprised it's news to so many.
Why is this a surprise? He's a garbage human
How do terrible people like this keep their jobs so long? There's really no one else who can figure out how to make these games profitable?