Bobby Kotick Declares Former EA Boss John Riccitiello 'Worst CEO in Video Games'

Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick unleashed a scathing critique of his ex-EA counterpart, John Riccitiello, labeling him "the worst CEO in video games" during a recent appearance on the Grit podcast. Speaking alongside former EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon, who hinted that Riccitiello's leadership contributed to his own departure, Kotick acknowledged EA's superior business model, stating, "We would have paid for Riccitiello to stay a CEO forever. We thought he was the worst CEO in video games." This comment, Kotick clarified, wasn't a personal attack driven by Gordon's presence, but rather stemmed from Activision's fear of Gordon potentially leading EA.

Riccitiello's departure from EA in 2013 followed a period of poor financial performance and significant layoffs. His tenure, which began in 2007, was punctuated by controversial proposals, including suggesting to shareholders that Battlefield players might pay to reload their weapons. He later served as CEO of Unity Technologies from late 2014 to 2023, a period also marked by controversy, including a public apology to developers for his insensitive remarks about those who opposed microtransactions.

Interestingly, Kotick, who oversaw Activision Blizzard's $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed that EA had made multiple attempts to acquire Activision Blizzard, acknowledging EA's stronger business model at the time.

Kotick's own leadership at Activision Blizzard, while marked by financial success, was also embroiled in controversy. Numerous employee complaints regarding sexism, a toxic work culture, and allegations of mishandling serious misconduct surfaced. While Activision Blizzard maintains that independent reviews found allegations of widespread sexual harassment and improper board actions to be unsubstantiated, a $54 million settlement was reached with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2023. The settlement concluded that no court or independent investigation substantiated claims of systemic sexual harassment or improper board handling of misconduct.

In the same interview, Kotick also offered his blunt assessment of Universal's 2016 Warcraft adaptation, calling it "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."