In a recent interview with VentureBeat, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick answered questions regarding the blockbuster announcement that Microsoft are acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
Some of the questions brought up was the recent price drop the company has experienced overall for the past few months since the lawsuit filed by California Department of Fair Employment and Housing was made public involving multiple sexual harassment accusations. Kotick replied:
I think what affected the stock price more than that is pushing out Overwatch and Diablo. And then I think people started to see that this year’s Call of Duty wasn’t performing as well. So I think certainly the [California Department of Fair Employment and Housing] filing and the Wall Street Journal article contributed to that, but stocks go up and down for a variety of reasons. I think our view was that at $95 a share with all cash, that’s a really great deal for our shareholders. And so that was an easy and independent judgment. It’s a great deal.
Needless to say, this did not go over with gamers and employees alike. Stephanie Krutsick, who previously served as a Producer at Blizzard Entertainment until 2020, took to her Twitter to state the following of Kotick:
Even as recently has yesterday (January 17, 2022) The Wall Street Journal published a report alleging that Kotick held back a summary of personal actions the company made regarding workplace conduct including sexual harassment allegations. That story, along with links to some of these accusations, can all be found in our article published regarding this story.
