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Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick recently slammed his EA counterpart, John Riccitiello, labeling him "the worst CEO in video games" during a podcast appearance on Grit. While acknowledging EA's superior business stability compared to Activision's, Kotick expressed a surprising preference for Riccitiello's continued leadership. He stated, "We would have paid for Riccitiello to stay a CEO forever. We thought he was the worst CEO in video games." This comment, made alongside former EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon, who hinted at Riccitiello's leadership contributing to his own departure, is particularly striking.
Riccitiello's departure from EA in 2013 followed a period of financial setbacks and significant layoffs. His tenure, which began in 2007, was also marked by controversial proposals, such as suggesting Battlefield players pay per reload. He later served as CEO of Unity Technologies, leaving in 2023 amidst controversy surrounding installation fees. His time at Unity also included a public apology for his disparaging remarks about developers who resisted microtransactions.
Kotick, whose leadership at Activision Blizzard concluded with the company's $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed EA's multiple attempts to acquire Activision Blizzard. He admitted EA's business model was, in many respects, stronger and more stable than Activision's.
Kotick's own tenure, while financially successful, was not without controversy. He faced numerous accusations of fostering a toxic work environment, including allegations of sexism and inadequate responses to serious misconduct. While Activision Blizzard maintains that independent reviews found these allegations unsubstantiated, a $54 million settlement was reached with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2023. The settlement concluded that no court or independent investigation had substantiated claims of systemic sexual harassment or improper board handling of misconduct.
In the same interview, Kotick also offered his scathing review of Universal's 2016 Warcraft film adaptation, calling it "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."
