Bobby Kotick slammed for making Call of Duty 'worse' after Activision exit
Former Call of Duty staff have claimed Bobby Kotick made Call of Duty 'worse', even threatening staff over game decisions.
02nd Jan 2024 11:15
Activision Blizzard
Bobby Kotick slammed for making Call of Duty 'worse' after Activision exit
Former Call of Duty staff have claimed Bobby Kotick made Call of Duty 'worse', even threatening staff over game decisions.
02nd Jan 2024 11:15
Activision Blizzard
The new year marks a new chapter for Activision Blizzard King, as the controversial figure that is Bobby Kotick has left the company.
Kotick, who was at the centre of allegations over the ingrained frat culture which drew lawsuits of harassment and improper sexual conduct be filed against the company in 2021, has officially stepped down from his role as Activision CEO, handing the reins over to Microsoft and other Activision executives.
But off the back of his exit, former Activision employees have now piled on the good news for Call of Duty fans, after saying Kotick actively made the shooter series "worse", and even threatened staff over developmental decisions.
Former Call of Duty dev speaks out about Kotick's Activision exit
With Kotick now stepping away from the company, Activision employees have begun speaking out about the negative impact he had on the games, and now an ex-Call of Duty programmer has continued piling on.
Christine Pollock, a former programmer who worked for Demonware on the Call of Duty franchise, took to Twitter to claim that over the two years that she worked on the games, Bobby Kotick's decisions damaged the series
"Bobby's decisions made our games worse," she posted on Twitter after he stepped down.
Bobby Kotick allegedly threatened to kill staff over Call of Duty development
Not only did Kotick reportedly have negative impacts on games, but ex-staff have also now spoken out about how he allegedly threatened employees.
"In my first month, it came out he threatened to have an employee killed," Pollock continued.
Pollock claimed to have called for Kotick's resignation while she was at the company after this. "In the all-hands that followed, no-one wanted to speak first. so I demanded his firing in front of everyone," she posted on Twitter.
"It was right before Thanksgiving 2021 - so "he, personally, gifted" us extra days off to take the whole week, globally, even for non-US staff. As soon as that happened I went 'whats he done' and sure enough."
Of course, these allegations haven't - and probably will never - be confirmed, although this isn't the first time the allegation has been made public.
Still, Kotick is now out of the picture for Activision and Call of Duty, and given the trend that we've already seen emerging with the series favouring community feedback over higher-up decisions, it might be a year to remember as Microsoft spearheads a new wave of CoD titles.
About The Author
Jack Marsh
Jack is an Esports Journalist at GGRecon. Graduating from the University of Chester, with a BA Honours degree in Journalism, Jack is an avid esports enthusiast and specialises in Rocket League, Call of Duty, VALORANT, and trending gaming news.
