According to Kotick, investors should only thank him for his foresight.
Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who sold the company to Microsoft for $69 billion in late 2023, has strongly defended the deal in response to a lawsuit from investors. In court documents, he stated that Call of Duty sales have fallen by more than 60% compared to last year, and the gaming console market is experiencing its worst period in decades. According to Kotick, this confirms the correctness of the decision to sell Activision.
The lawsuit was filed by the Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-fonden (AP7). The plaintiff claims that Kotick rushed to sell the company in order to keep his position, receive about $400 million in bonus payments, and avoid responsibility for scandals related to sexual harassment within Activision. Kotick rejects these accusations and makes counter-accusations: according to him, the fund acted in the interests of Embracer Group (owner of Tomb Raider and Lord of the Rings), seeking to weaken Activision in the California market. Embracer, in turn, denies these accusations.
Today, given that console sales are at an all-time low and Call of Duty sales are down more than 60% compared to last year, the plaintiff should be extremely grateful for the insight of Activision's management in completing this deal.
He also reiterated that the drop in sales is due to"intense competition", primarily from the Battlefield series.
Call of Duty sales are more than 60% lower than last year due to fierce competition from games like Battlefield - this destroys the FTC's argument about Call of Duty's monopoly in the first-person shooter genre.
