Activision Blizzard Boss Bobby Kotick will continue in his role till the end of 2023

Bobby Kotick, who was once again named as Blizzard’s CEO after Microsoft took over the COD producer, agreed to remain at the helm until 2023.

On Friday, Microsoft finalized its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in a transaction worth nearly $68.7 billion after almost two years since it was announced.

Kotick will report to Phil Spencer—Director of Gaming at Microsoft.

“I have always expressed my dedication to being a part of a smooth process and transition,” Kotick said in his letter to the employees of Activision

So, I resolved that for now, I will go on serving as CEO of ABK with respect to Phil’s leadership up till 2023. My aim is to work in unison with your teams so as not to witness any hitch during the team shift of players.

Robert Kotick took over as CEO of video game company Activision from February 1991 until 31 July 2008. He took the reins of Activision Blizzard after Activision and Vivendi Games merged.

The only executive at Activision with protection is Bobby Kotick, who has a change-of-con, troll protection, and the potential to receive a significant financial award upon dismissal following the takeover.

Kotick stands to gain hundreds of millions of dollars from the deal as a significant shareholder. If his contract is terminated or he leaves the company for whatever reason within a year following a change in ownership, he is also entitled to a severance payout.

Despite the fact that Kotick assisted in guiding Activision Blizzard to impressive commercial heights during his tenure, the company's and Kotick's reputations have suffered greatly in recent years as a result of scandals, including claims that executives purposefully disregarded or made an effort to minimize reported cases of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.