In a candid discussion on the podcast Grit, former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick didn't hold back his opinions about ex-EA CEO John Riccitiello, labeling him as "the worst CEO in video games." Joining Kotick was former EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon, who hinted that Riccitiello's leadership had accelerated his exit from the company. 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" due to his perceived ineffectiveness.
Former EA CEO John Riccitiello. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Riccitiello, who served as CEO of EA from 2007 to 2013, left amid poor financial performance and significant layoffs. One of his controversial proposals was suggesting to shareholders that Battlefield players might pay a dollar to reload their guns. Following his departure from EA, Riccitiello took the helm at Unity Technologies in 2014, but resigned in 2023 after a major backlash over proposed install fees that were later retracted. His time at Unity was also marked by other controversial statements, such as calling developers who didn't embrace microtransactions "the biggest f*cking idiots."
Kotick, who was at the helm of Activision Blizzard during its monumental $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed that EA had made multiple attempts to buy Activision Blizzard. "We had merger conversations a bunch of times," Kotick shared, adding that he considered EA's business to be more stable than Activision's.
Ex-Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.
While Kotick's leadership at Activision Blizzard was financially successful, it was also fraught with controversy. Employees raised concerns about sexism and a toxic work environment, culminating in walkouts over allegations that Kotick had not informed the company's board about serious misconduct, including rape. Activision Blizzard conducted independent reviews which found these allegations to be unsubstantiated. Additionally, in July 2021, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (now the Civil Rights Department) filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, alleging a retaliatory "frat boy" culture. However, in December 2023, a $54 million settlement was reached, with the department concluding that there was no evidence of systemic or widespread sexual harassment or improper handling by the board, including Kotick.
During the same interview, Kotick also criticized Universal's 2016 adaptation of Activision Blizzard's Warcraft, describing it as "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."
