Sources Say Bobby Kotick Will Remain As Activision Blizzard CEO If Microsoft Merger Fails

With everything that Activision Blizzard has gone through over the past two years, it’s a wonder that Bobby Kotick has still managed to hold on to his position as the company’s CEO, even amidst accusations of attempted murder. Microsoft’s impending and highly controversial acquisition of the company, however, might just be what knocks him off his lofty and apparently untouchable perch… if the deal goes through.

Since the merger was announced, various government agencies and even private individuals have been trying to block the deal over antitrust and monopoly concerns. These include the US Federal Trade Commission which filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft late last year and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority which released a provisional report on its investigation just last week confirming the merger’s detrimental effects to competition and gamers.

“In relation to gaming consoles, we provisionally found that Xbox and PlayStation compete closely with each other and that Activision’s Call of Duty (CoD) is important to the competitive offering of each,” read the report. “The evidence suggests that, after the Merger, Microsoft would find it commercially beneficial to make CoD exclusive to Xbox or available on Xbox on materially better terms than on PlayStation.”

“We provisionally found that this would substantially reduce competition in gaming consoles to the detriment of gamers – Xbox and PlayStation gamers alike – which could result in higher prices, reduced range, lower quality, worse service, and/or reduced innovation,” the report further stated.

Should the deal fall through, whether from the FTC’s lawsuit or some other reason, it will unfortunately mean that Kotick will remain in charge of Activision Blizzard. Sources with close knowledge on the merger, however, told Fox Business that they’re confident that the merger will push through despite the strong opposition from regulatory bodies, particularly the CMA, which the same sources say is the only major roadblock and “the only regulatory body that matters.”