In the wake of Bobby Kotick’s departure as CEO of Activision Blizzard, two former employees have spoken out about their experiences working under his leadership. They painted a picture of a company culture prioritizing short-term financial gains over employee well-being and game quality. Those accusations echo what many people have thought of Activision-Blizzard, but it’s surprising to see former employees affirming them.
Christina Pollock, a former programmer at Demonware, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, alleges that Kotick’s decisions directly impacted the quality of games, stating on social media that “Bobby’s decisions made our games worse.” She further claimed that during her first month at the company, a senior employee threatened to have another employee killed, and that during the subsequent all-hands meeting, no one initially dared to speak up in response.
You can view the tweets above for the full conversation, but it is incredible. (Thanks Eurogamer) Pollock recounts demanding Kotick’s firing in front of everyone, highlighting the importance of senior staff taking a stand against problematic leadership.
Andy Belford, a former community manager, corroborates Pollock’s claims, criticizing Kotick’s decision-making process and its negative impact on employee morale. Belford cites the disastrous Steam launch of Overwatch 2 as an example, claiming that his team warned management months in advance about potential backlash and requested additional resources to handle the anticipated influx of negative reviews, but these requests were denied.
He alleges that Kotick prioritized the launch on Steam without proper support, leading to a challenging and toxic environment for the community team tasked with moderating the platform. Belford further asserts that this incident exemplifies the broader culture fostered by Kotick at Activision Blizzard, characterized by prioritizing quarterly earnings above both player experience and employee well-being.
He claims that “shit flowed downstream,” with the negative consequences of executive decisions disproportionately impacting lower-paid and overworked employees.
Kotick’s departure marks a turning point for Activision Blizzard because Microsoft employees have yet to make these kinds of accusations about their leadership. In fact, those who have worked at Bethesda have yet to say anything bad about their new parent company. Activision-Blizzard being taken over by Microsoft may be a turning point for the publisher and the studios under it.
It’s important to note that these are just two individual perspectives, and a more comprehensive understanding of the situation would require hearing from a wider range of former and current employees. Additionally, the allegations against Kotick have not been independently verified, and Activision Blizzard has to respond to these claims publicly.
