Bobby Kotick could receive mindblowing sum to leave Activision after Microsoft buyout

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick could see himself receiving a truly staggering amount of money if he’s removed from his post following Microsoft’s buyout of the company.

The gaming world experienced one of the biggest shake-ups in its history on January 18, 2022, when Microsoft revealed that they had officially bought out Activision Blizzard, the publishers behind games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and more.

Fans of the games had questions in abundance but, more seriously, a bubble of excitement absolutely exploded across the industry, with gamers and business analysts alike absolutely baffled by the news.

With the acquisition, which reportedly set Microsoft back almost $70 billion, we’re likely to see a major shake-up in the Activision Blizzard infrastructure once the deal goes ahead in 2023 — and many have questioned what this means for Kotick.

While all signs point towards Bobby Kotick staying on as CEO at least until the deal is finalized, it’s not exactly been made clear how this might change in 2023 after the acquisition, with Phil Spencer set to be the chief for both teams.

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If Kotick is ousted from his job, however, and left without a job within the company, his disappointment will no doubt be cushioned by the truly eye-watering amount of money he could make.

As shown in these Activision documents, courtesy of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Kotick could earn anything up to $292,970,341. That’s right, almost $300m just to be removed from the company.

As evidenced above, his payout largely comes down to the reason — if there is one at all. If Activision Blizzard terminates his contract “for cause,” he’ll only receive around $264k for his troubles.

On the upper end of the scale, Kotick’s payout could reach that jaw-dropping $293m figure, should Microsoft choose to remove him from the company “for good reason” following the change of control.

It’s unclear how exactly this payout would work, and it’s not clear yet whether he will even leave the company after the deal goes through. In a conversation with the New York Times, Kotick was coy about his role following the acquisition, simply saying that he will “be available as needed.”