Bobby Kotick criticizes former CEO of EA and says he would pay for him to continue in the position

Former Activision Blizzard CEO calls John Riccitiello "the worst CEO in gaming"

Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard, did not mince words when talking about John Riccitiello, former leader of Electronic Arts (EA) and Unity Technologies. During an interview on the Grit podcast, Kotick classified Riccitiello as "the worst CEO in the video game industry" and admitted that he would "pay to keep him in the position forever."

EA tried to buy Activision several times

The conversation also revealed that Electronic Arts tried to acquire Activision Blizzard several times in the past. "They tried to buy us several times. We had several merger discussions," Kotick said. Despite the criticism of Riccitiello, he admitted that in many ways, the EA business model was more stable than Activision's.

"Our fear was that Bing Gordon [former creative director of EA] would take over the company", Kotick revealed. "We thought Riccitiello was the worst CEO in games and we would pay to keep him in the position forever."

Riccitiello led EA from 2007 to 2013, a period marked by layoffs, controversial decisions, and financial results below expectations. One of his most criticized ideas was suggesting that Battlefield players pay US$ 1 every time they reload their weapon in the game, something that was immediately rejected by the community and shareholders.

Controversies also marked Riccitiello's time at Unity

After leaving EA, Riccitiello took over Unity Technologies in 2014, where he stayed until 2023. His management was marked by several controversies, including the infamous statement that developers who do not adopt microtransactions are "the biggest idiots in the world".

The crisis at Unity culminated in the disastrous proposal to charge fees for game installations made with the company's graphics engine, which sparked outrage in the industry and forced the company to backtrack. Shortly after, Riccitiello left his position, ending another turbulent chapter in his career.

Kotick's controversial legacy at Activision Blizzard

Although he was instrumental in the financial growth of Activision Blizzard, Kotick also left the company with a legacy full of controversies. During his tenure, the company faced numerous allegations of harassment and a toxic work environment.

In 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued the company over a work culture described as "frat boy" (sexist and hostile to women). Then in 2023, Activision Blizzard reached a US$ 54 million settlement with the state of California to end the investigations.

Despite the accusations, the company claimed that independent audits did not find evidence of systemic harassment or negligence on the part of the board, including Kotick.

Kotick also criticizes the Warcraft movie

In addition to the attacks on Riccitiello, Kotick also took the opportunity in the interview to criticize the movie Warcraft (2016), the cinematic adaptation of the iconic Blizzard franchise. "It's one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life", said the former CEO.

The film, directed by Duncan Jones, did manage to have a respectable box office, grossing US$ 439 million globally, but was widely criticized for its confusing plot and drastic changes to the game's story.

A chapter closed in the gaming industry

Today, both Kotick and Riccitiello are no longer in charge of major companies, but their influences (and controversies) still resonate in the industry. While Activision Blizzard now operates under the umbrella of Microsoft, and Unity tries to recover from the crisis, Kotick's words make it clear that certain past rivalries have not been forgotten.