Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has revealed his company was ready to make a bid for Time Warner in the event AT&T didn’t finalize its purchase, which it did in 2018.
“We raised all the capital and were ready to go in the event that AT&T couldn’t get the deal done,” Kotick said in a chat with Variety.
The idea behind the plan being that Activision Blizzard could utilize Time Warner’s IP for game development, and Time Warner could turn Activision Blizzard’s vast stable of games into films and television properties.
Kotick also refuted the allegations that Activision Blizzard had internal systemic problems with harassment and toxicity. Those allegations came about in large part as a result of a 2021 civil suit filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) accusing Kotick’s company of enabling sexism, harassment and unequal pay for women.
“We didn’t have any of what were mischaracterizations reported in the media,” Kotick said, responding to the claims. “But what we did have was a very aggressive labor movement working hard to try and destabilize the company.”
Amid that contentious backdrop, Microsoft swooped in and made a bid to buy Activision Blizzard. The deal remains in progress. So far, major players such as the EU and South Korea have approved it. One major holdout is the UK. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal, but Microsoft is actively appealing the decision.
As to why Microsoft is so interested in Activision Blizzard, the company’s IP stable speaks for itself.
With major franchises such as “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” and “Call of Duty” under its roof, any company wielding Activision’s portfolio has a massive advantage in the gaming sector across console, PC, and phones. For example, on PC, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” has been on the top 100 best sellers Steam list for 45 weeks straight, despite the game having “mixed” reviews and a hefty $70 price tag. That sort of cash-printing power is hard to rival in the gaming industry.
