The situation for Activision Blizzard is only getting complicated day after day, and the inaction of its board of directors (this cannot be blamed only on the CEO) is becoming increasingly incomprehensible. So much so that it even leads to doubts about the real motivations why, to this day, they keep Bobby Kotick as head of the company. I can think of multiple options, all quite ugly, but the lack of proof of any of them (in the end they are just hypotheses) prevents me from starting to say nonsense.
What I cannot fail to mention is that, from the moment the savagery that has occurred within Activision Blizzard began to become public, Kotick’s figure has been in question, and the culmination came last week, when it was made public that the CEO not only knew what was happening in the company, but even acted so that the events did not transcend, thus becoming an accomplice of everything that he should have avoided.
In response to these disclosures, some of Activision Blizzard employees have chosen to go on strike, demanding for the cessation of the same the dismissal of Kotick, and shortly after, first Sony and later Microsoft, they have been quite critical of the company and, in the case of Redmond, they have even claimed to be rethinking their relationship with Activision Blizzard. And for two of the three console manufacturers to consider putting you on the blacklist is certainly anything but a good sign.
And today we know, again from The Wall Street Journal, that today it seems the best-informed source of what happens within Activision Blizzard, that your CEO has come to offer his resignation to the board of directors, in case he is not able to solve all the problems quickly. This affirmation would have taken place in a meeting in which Kotick affirmed to feel ashamed by what has happened in the company.
The meeting would have occurred at the request of the CEO, in order to apologize with the board of directors of Activision Blizzard, and would have affirmed that his intention is to solve the problems of the company «quickly«. The problem is that “quickly” is a tremendously subjective concept, especially if it comes from the person who knew everything that was happening and either considered it normal, or it seemed wrong but preferred to hide it.
«Quickly«In my humble opinion, it would have been more than enough if it had been his term of action after having knowledge of the first abuses. «Quickly»It would have been acceptable if it had been his deadline when all this started to go public. «QuicklyNow, when it is known that he allowed so many savages to be committed at Activision Blizzard, and that he did everything in his power to keep this out, seems more like a toast to the sun (or subterfuge) than something worth considering.
And it is clear to me that my opinion on this will have absolutely no influence on either the CEO or the board of directors of Activision Blizzard. However, I have the feeling that many of the company’s employees, as well as those responsible for relations with the company in other companies, should think in a similar way, and that therefore a “Quickly” is like giving a couple of pictures of food to someone who is starving.
Today, the only decent exit left for Activision Blizzard is through the resignation of Bobby Kotick or his dismissal by the board of directors, and I emphasize the dignity. At the moment neither side seems to be in favor (I repeat, I wonder what favors they will owe the CEO to act like this), but if the rest of the community, including its investors, keep the pressure on the company, maybe after all , the situation finally began to be resolved “quickly” with the departure of Bobby Kotick from the company. And maybe from some other board member, as we are.
However, Will Kotick’s departure fix all of Activision Blizzard’s problems? Clearly not. We speak of a toxic culture really ingrained in the company, from what we have been able to know in these months. In the Activision Blizzard post Kotick, a new team will have to enter that is capable of remaking the company from the inside. This is the only way for the headlines in which he stars to have to do exclusively with his games, not with the nauseating of his work environment.
