Bobby Kotick’s last day at Microsoft Gaming was reported as December 29, 2023, after Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King on October 13. The official employee messages confirmed that Kotick would remain through the end of 2023, but did not name December 29 specifically.
When did Bobby Kotick leave Activision Blizzard?
Contemporaneous reporting on December 20, 2023, identified Friday, December 29, as Kotick’s last day at Microsoft Gaming. That specific date comes from Wowhead’s December 20 report, rather than the official employee emails, which said he would stay through the end of the year.
Why did Kotick stay after Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard?
Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard on October 13, 2023, and welcomed the company’s teams into Microsoft Gaming. Phil Spencer said Kotick had agreed to remain as CEO through the end of 2023, reporting directly to Spencer, to help ensure a smooth integration. Kotick’s message to employees that day described the same arrangement: “Phil has asked me to stay on as CEO of ABK, reporting to him, and we have agreed that I will do that through the end of 2023.”
The transition therefore followed the acquisition closing; it was not an announcement that Kotick would leave before the deal was completed. Microsoft’s October 13 employee message said the year-end stay was intended to support a smooth integration.
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What did the leadership arrangement mean?
The December 20 report said leaders of Activision, Blizzard, and King would move under Matt Booty’s oversight and reporting structure as part of integrating the businesses into Microsoft Gaming. That was the arrangement described at the time, not a statement about the company’s present-day organization. The report did not describe Booty as Kotick’s direct successor CEO or announce a single successor to that role.
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