Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has publicly criticized ex-EA CEO John Riccitiello, branding him as "the worst CEO in video games." In a candid discussion on the podcast Grit, alongside former EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon, Kotick didn't mince words about Riccitiello's leadership, suggesting it may have "hastened his departure" from EA. Despite acknowledging that EA's business was in many ways superior to Activision's, Kotick humorously remarked that they "would have paid for Riccitiello to stay a CEO forever," indicating a stark disapproval of his management style.
Riccitiello, who led EA from 2007 until his exit in 2013 amid poor financial performance and significant layoffs, had previously proposed to shareholders the idea of charging Battlefield players a dollar to reload their guns—a move that was met with much criticism. Following his tenure at EA, Riccitiello took the helm at Unity Technologies in 2014, but his time there was also fraught with controversy, culminating in his departure in 2023 after a backlash over proposed install fees. His comments on microtransactions, where he called those who did not embrace them "the biggest f*cking idiots," further stirred controversy among developers.
Kotick, who oversaw Activision Blizzard during its monumental $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed that EA had made multiple attempts to buy Activision. He admitted that he considered EA's business model to be more stable and in some ways better than Activision's.
Despite Kotick's successful financial stewardship of Activision Blizzard, his leadership was not without its challenges. The company faced significant backlash over allegations of sexism and a toxic work culture, with employees staging walkouts and reports emerging that Kotick had not informed the board about allegations of serious misconduct, including rape. Activision Blizzard maintained that independent reviews found no substantiation for claims of systemic sexual harassment or improper board actions. Nonetheless, the California Civil Rights Department filed a lawsuit in July 2021, alleging a "frat boy" culture and retaliation. The issue was settled in December 2023 with a $54 million agreement, which confirmed that no systemic issues were found.
In the same interview, Kotick also expressed his strong disappointment with Universal's 2016 adaptation of Warcraft, labeling it as "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."
