Microsoft announced today that it will buy the world-famous game company Activision Blizzard. However, after the integration process, which will take place under the leadership of the company’s CEO Satya Nadella, ended, it was said that there would be an unexpected departure at Activision.
Activision-Blizzard games coming to Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft said in a statement today that it will buy the Activision-Blizzard company. So which games will come to Xbox Game Pass?
After Microsoft sale, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick leaves
Microsoft, which is expected to be one of the profitable parties after the sale, will have a wide variety of intellectual property and game development resources. It will be able to integrate game series such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush, as well as major game studios such as Blizzard Entertainment and Treyarch.
In addition, it is known that Activision has already reached more than 10 thousand employees. Therefore, these people will now come under the umbrella of Microsoft. However, there are those who do not seem to accept this merger. Chief among these is the former CEO of the company, Bobby Kotick.
According to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal, the separation was not announced as a mere formality after the agreement was signed. But once the official purchase is definitively made public, Kotick will also submit his resignation.
However, according to a claim made along with it, Kotick says that as per the agreement made by both Microsoft and Activision, Kotick will go through a separation process that can take 12 to 18 months. So this separation will not happen the next day as expected.
The secret sources who made the statement expressed this situation with the following words:
Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard. The Ove team will continue to focus its efforts on further strengthening the company’s culture and accelerating business growth. Once the deal is up, Activision Blizzard will report directly to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
However, Kotick was said to have known about various sexual harassment and rape allegations at his company for years. A study by the Wall Street Journal revealed a few specific examples of harassment and rape at Activision.
According to the statement, Kotick was not only aware of these allegations. It was also revealed that in at least one known case, the company’s human resources department intervened to keep a male employee accused of sexual harassment, even though it recommended firing them.
Xbox head Phil Spencer said in an email to staff that Xbox is evaluating all aspects of its relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments. It is also stated that during the investor phone call Microsoft held on Tuesday, it further discussed and highlighted the issues in Activision.
After that, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who made the final statement on the subject, said:
We believe it is critical for Activision Blizzard to continue its renewed cultural commitments. We support the work and goals of Activision Blizzard. We also recognize that we will have important work to do after closure to continue to build a culture where everyone can do their best.
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