Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will officially resign on December 29. Instead of directly appointing a successor, Microsoft has placed Activision Blizzard's executives — including Blizzard President Mike, Activision Publishing President Rob Kostic, and Activision Blizzard Vice Chairman Thomas Teapur — under the leadership of Matt Butty, Microsoft's President of Game Content and Studios.
Microsoft has essentially retained Activision Blizzard's leadership team, with some executive-level exceptions. Activision Blizzard's chief PR officer, Lulu Meservey, will leave the company at the end of January, Humam Sakhnini (vice chairman of Blizzard and King) will leave at the end of December, and some Activision Blizzard executives will leave in March.
Brian Bulatao (Chief Administrative Officer), Julie Hodges (Chief People Officer), Armin Zerza (Chief Financial Officer), and Grant Dixton (Chief Legal Officer) are all heads of Microsoft's gaming division. Thomas Tippl (Activision Blizzard Vice Chairman) is leaving Microsoft in March, along with other Activision Blizzard executives, while currently reporting to Matt Butty. Xbox director Phil Spencer said in an internal memo that "Thomas, Brian, Julie, Grant, and Armin will continue to help us through the transition until March 2024." ”
In addition, Matt Butty announced a number of changes to ZeniMax and Bethesda in a memo, including the appointment of Jill Braff as the new head of both studios. Microsoft continues to integrate Activision Blizzard into its expanded gaming business, and it's clear that Matt Butty is now taking on more responsibility than ever before.
Xbox fans are awaiting news of Microsoft's addition of Activision Blizzard games to Xbox Game Pass, with Spencer previously blaming the deal's lengthy regulatory process for not having Activision Blizzard games on Game Pass and saying we'll have to wait until 2024 to get news about the game additions. (Source: The Verge)