Kotick Labels Riccitiello as Gaming's Worst CEO

In a candid discussion on the podcast Grit, former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick didn't hold back his opinions on ex-EA CEO John Riccitiello, labeling him as "the worst CEO in video games." Joined by former EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon, who suggested Riccitiello's leadership contributed to his exit, Kotick acknowledged that EA's business model was in many ways superior to Activision's. However, he humorously remarked that they "would have paid for Riccitiello to stay a CEO forever," highlighting their relief at his departure from EA.

Riccitiello, who led EA from 2007 until his departure in 2013 amid poor financial performance and significant layoffs, once proposed to shareholders the idea of charging Battlefield players a dollar for each gun reload. After leaving EA, he took the helm at Unity Technologies in 2014, but his tenure ended in 2023 following a major backlash over proposed install fees, which were later retracted. His time at Unity was also marked by controversial statements, such as calling developers who didn't embrace microtransactions "the biggest f*cking idiots."

Kotick, who oversaw Activision Blizzard's historic $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed that EA had made multiple attempts to acquire Activision. He praised EA's business as more stable than Activision's, despite the latter's success under his leadership. However, Kotick's tenure was not without its controversies, including allegations of a toxic work culture and sexism, culminating in a $54 million settlement with California's Civil Rights Department in December 2023. The settlement came after allegations of a "frat boy" culture, though independent reviews found no substantiation for systemic sexual harassment or improper handling of misconduct by the board, including Kotick.

In the same interview, Kotick also critiqued Universal's 2016 adaptation of Activision Blizzard's Warcraft, bluntly calling it "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."