560°

Bobby Kotick re-elected as Activision Blizzard CEO

One of the proposals voted on by the shareholders was on which directors would be elected to serve for another term, including Bobby Kotick in the role of CEO.

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digitaltrends.com
SullysCigar678d ago

Every swamp needs a toad, I guess.

frostypants678d ago

I laughed way too hard at that.

neutralgamer1992678d ago (Edited 678d ago )

Totally deserving of this. Works so hard and takes care of all employees and treats everyone equally

While at it give him a raise and make sure his bonus check is huge

Microsoft and Sony Sony make him the CEO of their companies too

Nothing but success

S/

fr0sty678d ago

If Microsoft really cared, they'd be putting their foot down about this and saying the deal won't go through if they don't remove him.

Soulrakk678d ago

Won't matter once the deal goes through. I highly doubt he'll still be there not long after.

DarXyde678d ago (Edited 678d ago )

That says something, doesn't it?

I don't understand the specifics and I'm unaware of the optics and politics of this deal... But to me, it sounds like, behind the scenes, Microsoft was coerced into allowing this to proceed as a condition for the deal. If I'm using a clear example of my thinking, it's a bit strange that were getting this news shortly after the announcement of some big titles from Activision being on game pass like Diablo 4. Imagine having to walk that back. It would blow up, and if this is the case, that would be very shameful on Microsoft's part.

Alternatively, I must wonder how much Activision really wants this deal to go through. I suspect they're taking advantage of the average gamer's short attention span. The terrible culture at Activision was incredibly caustic to their reputation and the hopes of an acquisition allowed a lot of people to have misplaced confidence in the coming changes... Now that the storm has died down, Kottick has an opportunity to remain.

Even crazier... Is Microsoft also thinking this deal will not go through? Did they just posture to rehabilitate Activision's image as a favor to secure something from Activision in the future?

I'm speculating, but if there's any truth to my speculation, that is disgusting and embarrassing.

KillBill678d ago

Microsoft can't even enter into any discussion on this subject until after the deal is finalized. To do so would put the deal in jeopardy.

anubusgold678d ago

microsoft has no power until they have control the share holders will stop anything they try.

anubusgold677d ago (Edited 677d ago )

Sony fanboys can disagree all they want its illegal for Microsoft to try to tell them anything before they actually own them they will get sued into the ground if the shareholders can prove it and fined by the government.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 677d ago
KillBill678d ago

MS has zero say in this and can't get involved.

Jin_Sakai677d ago

Did anyone really think he would step down before the acquisition? Hopefully next year is his last!

1Victor677d ago

I’m No surprised they only care about the money and he bring it in regardless of anything else a perfect fit for Microsoft next Xbox head of gaming division after Phil eventually drop the ball.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 677d ago
Orchard678d ago

They were always going to re-elect the same guy during a transition period like this. The sooner the MS deal closes the better, get him out of the door ASAP.

Eonjay678d ago

So of course this is exactly to Microsoft's, the Board's and Kotick's plan. In order for him to get up to that 500+ million he has to be fired by Microsoft. That was their plan from the beginning. Its in his contract. This was the last real chance for the board to stop him from getting the impending gigantic payout. Now he is assured over half a billion from Microsoft in exchange for the buyout and being fired under Phil Spencer. Now Microsoft will pay him tripple salary on top of the stock buyout. They should have demanded him resgin as part of the deal beforehand but clearly Kotick was instrumental in crafting this deal. He laughs in your face every time you say '[Microsoft will] get him out the door'. NOW was the time to get him out.

Orchard678d ago (Edited 678d ago )

Not sure that's anything to do with MS - they have zero say in goings on at Activision prior to the acquisition being approved.

That being said, we all know he gets a payout for being booted out, but sometimes you just have to bite that bullet. It's a better option than having him in the industry for another decade or two - for both employees and gamers.

shadowhaxor678d ago

Since MS didn't own the company, they couldn't demand anything. Of course, if/when MS owns the company, they don't have to fire him. They could demote him or remove him of any responsibilities, instead of firing him. The cleaning won't begin until this deal is finalized and completed.

Eonjay678d ago

@shadowhaxor

Actually... I like the idea of demoting him. Thats a perfect solution.

Godmars290678d ago

Thing is if he's not thrown fired or otherwise leaves, will it really reflect on MS?

Honestly think, like most cases of backlash they've suffered, it will only be temporary. With likelihood that if he does stay on, he may even be put in charge of MS.

Tacoboto678d ago

Microsoft has $70 billion worth of things they could say about Kotick. But like how business is business, they leapt at the chance to get a good price over standing up for the values they project in press releases.

678d ago
Orchard678d ago

@Eonjay Demote him and make him report to those he abused and exploited over the years

@Hatchet well another way of looking at it is, they’re doing a favor to the employees of Activision who will now get better working conditions.

@Godmars Literally zero chance of him becoming head of MS lol. Phil Spencer won’t even get that role, it’ll be someone on the more corporate side of things who understands azure etc, gaming isn’t about to take over Microsoft.

Godmars290678d ago

@Orchard:

Meant to say Xbox division.

shinoff2183678d ago

Dude isnt getting fired by ms.

RosweeSon677d ago

Yeah people saying it’s not on Microsoft the Board wont allow it, money talks if Microsoft say we’re not having it sure they may just lose out but I’m pretty certain the shareholders would go oh ish do we want our major payouts as well lose the deal unless we get rid of 1 guy. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤣 hey ho now they’ve abandoned Tony hawks 3/4 like utter morons I have literally 0 interest in this company.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 677d ago
-Foxtrot678d ago

Honestly, with the amount of shit this guy is bringing over, they should have just cut their losses and the bad PR , getting rid of him

Since they haven't, he'll be around even after the deal closes I reckon.

Orchard678d ago (Edited 678d ago )

It would need to be Activision who cut him (at this time) - and they won't shake the jello during an acquisition.

Microsoft have zero say in anything at this time. It's a bit like being in closing on a house. You can see the ugly wallpaper but you can't quite pull it off until all the paperwork is complete.

He's gone under MS for sure. No way they're going to keep such an employee around. Imagine the PR disaster.

shinoff2183677d ago

You right. Its probably being written into the contract about not getting rid of him or something to that extent

S2Killinit678d ago

Ummm yeah no, stop deflecting please. This is MS.

Orchard678d ago

MS who just fired someone of similar statute to Kotick over less? Yes. No deflection at all.

TheGreatGazoo30677d ago

MS can't even legally talk specifics about what their plans are for things when they take over. They don't own the company and have no say in any of this. I'd be illegal for them to interfere.

S2Killinit677d ago

You think they can announce upcoming games and talk about the direction of the company but cant fire this guy if they wanted to?

gamer7804677d ago

Yup and people were complaining about MS buying them…

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 677d ago
MadLad678d ago

He's out as soon as the MS deal goes into effect.
Until then, not surprised he's still around. He's a true scumbag, and horrible PR for the company, but he's also the reason Activision is as large as it is today. That's all that matters to investors.

PapaBop678d ago

We can only hope. This acquisition gives MS the chance to wipe the slate clean with Activision Blizzard and score some major PR points in the process. Everything leads back to this guy, from a Blizzard fan's perspective, there is no redemption until this slimey POS is gone. Hopefully MS get it right.

S2Killinit678d ago

I dont think that is happening.

MadLad678d ago (Edited 678d ago )

Based on what, exactly?
As soon as the acquisition goes into effect Spencer essentially takes on Kotick's role.

All studios underneath The Activision/Blizzard banner are now just first party studios for Microsoft Game Studios. They are no longer beholden to stockholders as they were acting solely as a large game publisher.
Kotick brings nothing to the table, as his expertise won't be applicable in the new environment that takes console sales into consideration, as well as the current focus by Microsoft with their Gamepass service.

MadLad678d ago

Read my statement above. It makes no sense, and I have no idea why people would even think he'll remain after the close on the deal.

He's bad PR, his position and expertise is rendered irrelevant once the deal closes, and he has a severance written right into the purchase agreement.

Like, I'm watching people humoring the most illogical outcome post acquisition, and I have no idea where it's even coming from.

isarai677d ago

@MadLad

You act like MS has never made illogical decisions before. Truth is most people who buy activision's games dont know or care who the CEO is. Dont know why you feel like a large corporation like MS would have such strong ethics, they want money, they'll keep whoever makes tham that money, until their presence starts affecting that money greatly, they dont care.

XiNatsuDragnel678d ago

Oh heck no, in my opinion that's a disaster

ElCapitan006678d ago

He will most likely be out of there shortly after the deal goes through. This is probably just a formality.

Kados678d ago

Hopefully MS cleans house once the sale is complete. Get rid of Dobby Coatrack, and the entire board of directors.

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330°

Square Enix Declares $140m Loss Amid Game Pipeline Shakeup

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth publisher Square Enix has declared a $140m loss based on a shakeup of its internal development pipeline.

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techraptor.net
Furesis16h ago

What are they doing over there? Sounds like they canceled something big. I read a rumor a while back about ff9 remake . Here "Final Fantasy IX has gone through a very challenging development, the game is still in progress but may undergo changes drastic enough that we won't hear about it for a couple of years."
This could be one of the reasons if the rumor is true. That was Silknight i don't know how credible he is but it's something and it would make sense.

-Foxtrot15h ago

I hope IX is still on the cards

Just a straight up remake which they expand a little bit nothing over ambitious

If IX dosent happen then VI and VIII will never be thought of.

Kakashi Hatake4h ago

6 and 8 were way more p popular games despite today's cult following of 9.

TiredGamer13h ago

What are they doing? Sales are falling and the costs are out of control. Big releases need to be absolute sales home runs now, and Final Fantasy sales have stagnated.

Now we know why Square didn’t fall over themselves to remake the original FF7 all these years ago. It certainly wasn’t a license to print money, at least not with what the expectations were. Each of these full on remakes drains an enormous amount of company resources for a razor thin profit margin.

TwoPicklesGood13h ago

Breaking the game up into multiple parts was a mistake IMO.

blackblades12h ago

The loses came from cancelling games nothing else.

shadowT15h ago

Do not miss Final Fantasy 16. Great game!

raWfodog15h ago

I'm waiting for them to release the complete edition bundle, but it's definitely on my list.

PhillyDonJawn14h ago

Wth is going on with the gaming industry?

mandf14h ago

Corporate investors taking everything

TiredGamer13h ago

Not rocket science. Compare sales numbers, development cycles, and budgets to the previous gens. We are all collectively burning up the industry from the inside out. Expectations are ludicrously high now for every release and sales are dropping for even the most prestigious of series.

We used to be satisfied paying $50-60 for a game that took 1/100th the budget and staff to make. Now gamers feel cheated if they have to pay the same for a game that took 100x the budget. We may be reaching the end of the line for this model of gaming.

wiz719110h ago

@tiredgamer I think your point is one that ppl don’t understand and you hit it on the nose .. some gamers don’t want to take accountability but it’s some of the gamers fault the industry is where it’s at .. we as gamers set the standards for the industry not the shareholders , ppl forget that the shareholders and the industry want and need OUR Money. Both the Xbox and PlayStation are seeing a drop in hardware , the industry is very stagnant right now.

Tacoboto11h ago

Speaking to Square:

Turns out their mismanagement wasn't related to the western studios they dumped to Embracer, but their own fault.

With regards to Xbox - a good way to kill your brand is to pull support on high quality titles and only dump B and C-tier titles to it

With regards to PC - Epic Games Story exclusivity for any duration and piss-poor optimization will hurt you.

With regards to FF Pixel Remasters - y'all messed up by barely releasing them on physical, like wtf that was free money!

And lastly, you don't help a franchise by releasing a mainline title that undermines every title that came before it. FFXVI was a DMC-like with bottom-of-the-barrel side quests and I can't imagine that helping Rebirth at all considering its marketing is directly tied to how big that game is.

Tacoboto10h ago

Sony is getting their best titles and with the most polish, so what about it? Nintendo gets their top properties too, for titles that can run on Switch hardware.

It's the other fanbases that get the second- and third-class treatment from Square. If that's due to agreements with Sony, that's not a Sony issue but a Square one for accepting those terms. Sony is doing its best to look out for Sony.

TiredGamer14h ago

The industry implosion is continuing. Sky high budgets, prolonged development windows, stagnant sales numbers, and falling currency values (inflation) are wreaking havoc on the legacy industry. AAA games will slowly become the rarity.

CS714h ago

Sad. Rebirth was one of my favorite games in a long time. Should have sold more.

CrimsonWing6913h ago

Oh I’m with you. What’s worse is they can say, “Well we tried to make this amazing game and spend all this money on, but not enough people showed an interest. So no more of these since we can’t take a hit like that.”

The industry is going to take a dramatic shift. Mark my words on this.

rpvenom12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

I think there is quite a large portion of individuals like myself who held out on buying it on PS5 because I can get it on PC eventually. To be able to mod the game and also have custom graphical settings to my liking

gold_drake3h ago

same

but im not sure if it matters at all. im sure they made sony pay a hefty sum for the 3parter to come on ps5 exclusively. so watever they made in sales, might have come bk in profits for square, but i dont know
and we dont know what "underperformed" even means for square.

Show all comments (31)
290°

Xbox Games Showcase Followed by [REDACTED] Direct Airs June 9

- Xbox Wire - Mark your calendars! The Xbox Games Showcase followed by [REDACTED] Direct airs June 9. More info inside.

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news.xbox.com
bionicstar15h ago

Will they show Fable 4, Stalker 2, GoW 6 & Perfect Dark?

PhillyDonJawn14h ago

Crossing fingers for Fable and perfect dark. And State of Decay 3

RaidenBlack10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

And maybe Clockwork Revolution, South of Midnight, Contraband, Project 007 & OD? lol
and whatever happened to Everwild ?
+ that rumored Wu Tang RPG

Sonic18818h ago(Edited 8h ago)

Will they have official release dates and gameplay?

anast14h ago

Another game pass event with their plans to go all streaming.

14h ago
Lightning7713h ago

It's an Xbox showcase that they have every year.

Make smarter comments for once.

anast10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Tell me what a smarter comment is.

If they don't sell game pass the entire time, then I will be wrong. All of this can be proven once the show gets underway. Let's wait and see.

13h ago
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Lightning7710h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Wow too easy.

You went from MS going all streaming to selling gamepass content in which we all know they are.

Which one is it?

Pretty clear you don't know what a smart comment is at least you admit you don't know.

9h ago
anast5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

"Another game pass event with their plans to go all streaming."

It's both. I would worry about your own intelligence at this point. It seems that there is not enough to go around for you to worry about how smart other people are.

Lightning775h ago

It's just a regular event announcing games. Nice one captain obvious they're gonna mention gp stuff like they do every year what else is new.

The all streaming part is just you, being you I guess. They have streaming options but going all streaming again is just you pulling stuff outta thin air.

anast5h ago

You don't know what a smart comment is or isn't. You're welcome for the help.

Lightning771h ago

No you said something dumb then you tried to back track and mention GP.

Again make smart comments for once.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
darthv7214h ago

Wonder if they will address the handheld rumors....?

jimb0j0nes14h ago

For a brief moment I thought we might get a whole Direct for Gears 6 - seems like it's COD though!

Show all comments (40)
130°

Square & Bandai Namco Being Honest About Quality Is A Step In The Right Direction

Saad from eXputer: "After suffering from massive financial hits, Square Enix & Bandai Namco appear to be turning over a new leaf but I'm still unconvinced."

Nerdmaster1d 6h ago (Edited 1d 6h ago )

I was talking about games with some Japanese guys here in Japan, and it seems like around here Bandai Namco has a fame of making low-quality games, with the occasional gem.

About Square Enix, I believe they lack the capacity to improve. They should learn with Capcom (although even Capcom still makes some bad mistakes), but I don't think they ever will. They keep chasing whatever is new at the time (blockchain, AI...) to say "we innovate", without considering the public perception and if these things actually improve the games or not. Them releasing too many small games with no advertising also shows a lack of trust in its own products. Even with their biggest games, like turning FF into an action game with XVI and the very divisive plot changes regarding whispers and timelines in VII Remake, shows them trying to attract a new generation of gamers without understanding what made the series so big in the first place.

shinoff21831d 6h ago

I want a true ff7 remake. With thatcsaid I'm way happier with 7 remake then I was with ff16. I'd still prefer turn based but square keep chasing these Lil kids

Snookies121d 2h ago

Man, it is perfectly fine to prefer turn based. Turn based is amazing. But there's zero reason to call anyone who likes action games "lil kids". Liking one gameplay system over another does not make you more mature in any way.

VersusDMC1d 5h ago

People love the new FF's overall...the problem is the abundance of 7's they release that lose money or make very little like diofield, star ocean divine force, Valkyrie asylum, harvestella, foam stars, etc. Advertising wouldn't have saved those games. Apparently Forespoken had a big Advertising budget but we saw how that went.

shinoff21831d 5h ago (Edited 1d 4h ago )

Star ocean divine force actually sold well from what I've read not ff type numbers but well enough. Was a dope game to.

FinalFantasyFanatic1d 4h ago

Bandai Namco is going to Bandai Namco, I do believe that Square Enix can't change without changing the entire management, they've had these issues for more than a decade and haven't learnt, I have very little faith they can course correct. I'll still buy their better remasters/remakes like Star Ocean 2 though (not FF7R).

Asterphoenix1d 1h ago

Namco is just milking the same Sword Art Online with lack of budget as well as anime IPs that don't go to decent developers like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia. Namco deserves their losses and no future Dot Hack or Xenosaga remaster :(.

Square allocated lot of their budget on Forspoken was a mistake. Square always had management issues. Star Ocean 2 was a great remake and I found their recent entries of FF(16 and Rebirth) better than 13 and 15.
I think they were better than 360/PS3 generation where Square went really downhill.

CrimsonWing691d 5h ago

I don’t know why NOW they decide on this, but I guess later is better than never.