Bobby Kotick announces his official departure from Activision on December 29

It’s been a few months since Purchase Activision-Blizzard on the part of Microsoft, we have witnessed in recent weeks an integration of studies within Microsoftthis accompanied by a new range within Microsoft Gaming.

In the case of Activision-Blizzard, the organizational structure does not appear to have been affected until now, if it is declared that the changes are delayed or not, but the process of integration with Microsoft continues, it has to be maintained at large parts of the current plant In Activision-Blizzardnow thanks to new internal communication Microsoft games and his Phil Spencer, CEOwe have new information on the Activision-Blizzard restructuring for the coming months, including Bobby Kotick’s departure date.

Bobby Kotick officially retires from Activision-Blizzard on Friday, December 29, 2023

As can be seen in the statement, which The Verge echoedBobby Kotick is reportedly leaving his position on December 29 of this year, leaving his vacant position in the hands of Matt Bootywhich is currently under his supervision Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda, after December 29, Matt Booty will officially be in charge of 3 new publishers, Activision, Blizzard and King.

Among other details, other executives of the company will retain their functions until March 2024 (end of the financial year and deadline for the end of the alignment of the two companies). We leave you the full memo of Phil Spencer about these changes.

Earlier today, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick officially announced that Friday, December 29, 2023 would be his last day at Microsoft Gaming. Under Bobby’s leadership, Activision Blizzard, in its many incarnations, has been an enduring pillar of gaming. Whether it’s Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush Saga, or any other title, their teams have created beloved franchises and entertained hundreds of millions of gamers for decades. I want to thank Bobby for his invaluable contributions to this industry, his partnership in closing the Activision Blizzard acquisition and his collaboration after closing, and I wish him and his family the best in their next chapter.

With Bobby’s imminent departure, we are taking the next step to align Activision Blizzard with Microsoft Gaming, making the following organizational changes:

Thomas Tippl (Vice President of Activision Blizzard), Rob Kostich (President of Activision Publishing), Mike Ybarra (President of Blizzard Entertainment) and Tjodolf Sommestad (President of King) will report to Matt Booty (President of Games and Content). studio). The management teams of Activision Publishing, Blizzard and King will remain in place, with no changes to the management structure of the studios and business units.

Brian Bulatao (Chief Administrative Officer) will report to Dave McCarthy (COO, Microsoft Gaming).

Julie Hodges (Director of Human Resources) will report to Cynthia Per-Lee (Vice President of Human Resources, Games).

Grant Dixton (General Counsel) will report to Linda Norman (Corporate Vice President, Gaming CELA).

Armin Zerza (CFO) will continue to report to Tim Stuart (VP of Corporate Finance), as we previously announced to the finance team in October.

Thomas, Brian, Julie, Grant and Armin will continue to help us with the transition until March 2024.

Lulu Meservey (Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Director of Communications) will be leaving ABK at the end of January. She has agreed to support Kari Perez (General Manager of Communications) in a plan to transition leadership of ABK’s communications team, which will report to Kari. Additionally, Humam Sakhnini (VP of Blizzard and King) will leave at the end of December. We thank Humam and Lulu for their leadership over the past year.

For most of you, your day-to-day work will remain the same: business as usual to deliver more innovative experiences to more people around the world. At the executive level, these changes will provide the clarity and accountability needed to achieve our ambitious goals and foster a culture that is welcoming, empowering and committed to play for all. We have an exciting lineup of games coming in 2024 from Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard, King, and Xbox Game Studios, and I know we’re all eager to share more details with our gaming communities when the time is right.

Phil

We can expect more changes to occur in the the next weeksthis in view of the implementation of the catalog of Activision and Game Pass, future versions now under the hand of Microsoft games and its new corporate alignment after March 2024.