In a significant shift for the gaming industry, Microsoft has unveiled a restructured leadership team following the departure of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. Effective December 29, 2023, Kotick will step down, leaving behind a legacy of industry-defining franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, but also a tenure marred by controversy.
Stepping into the void is a familiar face within Microsoft Gaming: Matt Booty. Booty already oversees Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda and will take on the entirety of Activision Blizzard, placing him at the helm of a behemoth in the gaming landscape. Two memos let us know everything that’s happening: one from Phil Spencer and one from Booty (thanks, The Verge).
While the Activision Blizzard leadership team remains largely intact, key departures include Chief Communications Officer Lulu Meservey and Vice Chairman Humam Sakhnini. Other executives will likely transition out by March, with their positions being taken over by those in Microsoft. These include departments like administration, human resources, legal, and finance. However, Vice Chairman Thomas Tippl will report to Booty until his departure in March to ensure everything goes smoothly.
This leadership shuffle isn’t solely focused on Activision Blizzard. ZeniMax and Bethesda studios also see a change at the top, with Jill Braff appointed as their new head. Braff’s prior experience with Nintendo and Sega makes her a great candidate to run Zenimax. It’s been a while since the studio was bought, so seeing someone put over it this much later is surprising.
Xbox fans eagerly await details regarding the integration of Activision Blizzard games into Xbox Game Pass. Spencer, the head of Microsoft Gaming, knows that Xbox Game Pass owners are awaiting more details on the addition of Activision-Blizzard games, but is tempering expectations for immediate additions. He assures, however, that news regarding game availability will arrive in 2024.
While the merger was signed some time ago, that doesn’t mean everything ends quickly. Data and documents need to be transferred to the new owner, and employees need time to adjust to the new management. This is why it is taking so long for Activision-Blizzard to lose the executives who worked for the company when it was independent. We’ll see how these new leaders do, but it’s clear that we’ll likely see big pushes from Microsoft in 2024.
