MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Outspoken Activision publishing boss Bobby Kotick has in an interview with Edge magazine launched a scathing assault on rival EA, blasting the way it treats owned developers and claiming that no-one actually wants to work for the company. The core principle of how we run the company is the exact …
Read More »Activision: Bungie had no alternative
A unrivalled commitment to cutting costs was the key driver in Bungie’s decision to sign a ten-year deal with Activision, the publisher’s boos Bobby Kotick has claimed. Speaking to investors, Kotick outlined a number of ways that his firm keeps a close check on its balance sheets including, bizarrely, the …
Read More »Kotick: Bungie is the last great indie
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick wants the world to know his firm is embarking on an exclusive ten-year partnership with Bungie, and in typical fashion he is doing so by way of cavalier and comical sound bites. Speaking at a recent investor meeting, the CEO of the world’s biggest third-party game …
Read More »Kotick: ‘We need UK tax breaks’
Activision has spoken out against the UK government just a week after Chancellor George Osborne dashed developers’ hopes by cancelling Labour’s promised games tax breaks. The Financial Times this evening quotes the company CEO Bobby Kotick as saying the Activision needs financial investments to keep encouraging it to invest in …
Read More »Kotick says CoD MMO is coming
In a candid interview with The Wall Street Journal, Activision boss Bobby Kotick has claimed that he’d love to take the Call of Duty franchise into the world of massively multiplayer gaming. When asked if you could snap your fingers, and instantly make one change in your company what would …
Read More »Activision reshuffles US operations
A restructure right at the very top of leading global publisher Activision has seen the company split into four units – one handling Call of Duty, another dealing with internally owned IP such as Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk, a third working on licensed properties and a fourth comprising independent …
Read More »Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions revealed
The next Spider-Man game from Activision Blizzard has been revealed, bearing the suffix Shattered Dimension. The new title was spotted on the cover of GamePro’s upcoming May issue, but no other details have been given yet. Given the lack of a new movie in the near future, it is highly …
Read More »Activision lawsuit turns personal
A complete copy of the lawsuit being filed against Activision by Jason West and Vince Zampella – the former bosses of Infinity Ward – reveals the true extent of the feuding between the studio and the publisher. And for the first time the saga has become personal, with Activision boss …
Read More »How Activision missed out on The Sims
In a meeting at Maxis’ offices where the exec was considering a possible acquisition of the studio, Activision boss Bobby Kotick was offered the chance to preview the latest secretive creation of Sim-series mastermind Will Wright. However, as Sim City 2000 was too much of a mess”, as Kotick described …
Read More »Kotick: EA a good option if you want to sell out
In a wide-reaching and uncharacteristically personal speech at DICE, Activision boss Bobby Kotick managed to find a little time for a quiet dig at publishing rival EA. More specifically, the exec was keen to point out his belief that while Activision nurtures and respects its owned studios, EA is a …
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