Former Activision Blizzard head honcho Bobby Kotick has blamed title like Battlefield 6 for Call of Duty’s 60% sales decline the past year.
The comments come as new details on the Delaware lawsuit against Microsoft and Activision, which features other board members alongside Kotick. GameFile reports that the former Activision Blizzard boss said that the company’s recent performance has been “well below” long-term targets, with Call of Duty in particular forecast to have performed 60% below 2024’s figures as a result of stiff competition.
Kotick observed that the decline in sales essentially nullifies the FTC’s argument for “lack of competition in the first-person action game category,” which was mentioned back when it was attempting to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The ex-CEO also mentioned that the lawsuit was designed to benefit Embracer Group at the expensive of Activision Blizzard.
Kotick remained the CEO of Activision Blizzard throughout the FTC’s attempts to block the buyout, and it was announced in December 2023 that he would be leaving his role with the publishing behemoth at the end of the month. His last few years with Activision were marred by accusations of him allowing a toxic work culture to grow under his watch.
[Source – GameFile via Insider Gaming]