Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is expected to leave the company once the $68.7 billion buyout of his company has been completed. The acquisition will give the embattled CEO a convenient exit plan, as he and his leadership team deal with numerous lawsuits and investigations, a negative public image, and a stock price that plummeted around 30% through the second half of 2021. Reporting in the wake of the buyout announcement has honed in on the troubles that Activision has faced over the past six months and how they opened the door for Microsoft to buy the company and for Kotick to leave on his own terms. Bloomberg’s (paywalled) behind-the-scenes reporting has Kotick asserting that the acquisition had nothing to do with last year’s controversies or the calls for him to steep down. However, “A person familiar with the discussions, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Microsoft looked at Activision’s situation, given all the negative attention and pressure on Kotick, and wondered if the beleaguered CEO would be willing to do a deal. “Kotick initially didn’t want to sell, according to another person familiar with the talks, and also put the word out to see if any other company would outbid Microsoft. But at that point, Kotick had little leverage with his board amid the ongoing public scrutiny at his company.” Per the Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Kotick has been eager to change the public narrative about the company, and in recent weeks has suggested Activision Blizzard make some kind of acquisition, including of gaming-trade publications like Kotaku and PC Gamer, according to people familiar with him. The Activision spokeswoman, Ms. Klasky, disputed that Mr. Kotick wanted to make the acquisitions. A spokesman for G/O Media, the parent company of Kotaku, declined to comment. PC Gamer didn’t respond to a request for comment.” Further Reading: What does Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard mean for gamers? The simple fact is that the narrative surrounding Activision Blizzard has not significantly changed over the past six months. If anything, it’s narrowed in and focussed on Kotick and his personal leadership of the company. The widespread allegations and DFEH lawsuit that emerged last summer were initially met with a dismissive attitude by executives which eventually resolved itself into announcing a new zero tolerance policy with the board of directors publicly backing Kotick. However, it was then reported in November that Kotick knew of the allegations and turned a blind eye. This made a bad situation worse at the company, especially as Blizzard games Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 were delayed, Call of Duty: Vanguard made for a relatively down year for the franchise, and workers strike and seek to unionise. The company is still very profitable, but the market cap took a major hit, giving Microsoft the chance to offer Kotick a way out that he is seemingly now willing to take. Again, as reported by the WSJ, “Some of Activision’s directors who had stood by Mr. Kotick during the crisis were individually beginning to get anxious, according to people familiar with the board. Some directors didn’t believe shareholders and employees would be comfortable without a major change but weren’t willing to try to oust Mr. Kotick. He is expected to depart the company after the deal closes, the people said.” Kotick personally holds a stake in Activision that will be worth $390 million. Source: Bloomberg (via Jason Schreier), Wall Street Journal

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is set to get approval in 2023. Making it the largest in the Games Industry's…

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Activision Blizzard Website now offers CEO Bobby Kotick's letter to staff about today's news that Microsoft is purchasing Activision Blizzard. Also, there's a Bobby...

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard doesn’t give the maker of Xbox and the home of Halo control of everything significant in...

Microsoft is planning to buy Activision Blizzard in a record $68.7 billion all-cash deal. The news just broke today, and folks are freaking out. Some...

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The games industry doesn’t hibernate for very long over the winter and holidays, so there’s already the first stirrings for what looks to be one of the busiest periods in gaming that I can remember. The next few months are jam-packed with game releases, many of which were delayed from the end of last year, and more trailers and announcements are starting to drop. That’s in addition to PC gamers getting a month where they can catch up on some huge games that are being ported to their platform for the first time. In the News This Week Hitman 3 Year 2 starts 20th January – Freelancer mode, a new level and free updates revealed All Xbox One consoles were discontinued by the end of 2020 Take Two purchasing Zynga for $12.7 billion Troy Baker backs a voice based NFT site but won’t be selling his own voice Deep Rock Galactic gains 6 million players in one week after PS Plus launch STALKER 2 hit with massive delay More Days Gone sequel plans revealed by game director Jeff Ross Overwatch 2 LEGO set delayed due to Activision Blizzard allegations PUBG’s free-to-play relaunch is now live on PlayStation, Xbox and Steam Techland clarify how long Dying Light 2 takes to complete Giveaways We’ve got a great giveaway this week for fans of the RuneScape MMORPG. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, which is mind-boggling for pretty much every game, Jagex created a gorgeous RuneScape: The First 20 Years book looking back of the game’s history. We’ve got five copies of the Deluxe Edition for a giveaway, which you can enter here. Games in Review and Featured Articles January seems to be the month of choice for games to get ports to PC, with both Monster Hunter Rise and God of War making the jump to keyboard & mouse. How did they hold up? Monster Hunter Rise – PC, NSW – 9/10 God of War – PC, PS5, PS4 – 8/10 Battle Brothers – PS4, XBO, PC – 7/10 Elsewhere, we took a good long look at The Anacrusis, a new sixties sci-fi themed take on the Left 4 Dead formula that’s now in Early Access and Xbox Game Preview, while Gareth dove back into the mind of Far Cry 4’s arch villain with the Far Cry 6 – Pagan: Control DLC. His mind is rather similar in structure to Vaas’ from the first DLC… Over the weekend, we had two features, the first from Eric delving into The Legend of Zelda Second Quest, and the second with Reggie asking what happened to Arena Shooters? Finally, What We Played featured The Anacrusis, Far Cry 6 and Fantasian. Trailer Park We could post trailers for days this week, but here’s a few of the highlights: Gran Turismo 7 gameplay trailer heads to the Daytona International Speedway Pokémon Legends: Arceus trailer reveals more gameplay from its Hisuian adventure Kirby and the Forgotten Land is coming out in March – new gameplay and co-op revealed in trailer New ELEX II trailer dives into the overhauled RPG combat Your Achievements And finally for this round-up, we come to… you! MrYd finished of Ghost of Tsushima’s main story and started on the Iki Island expansion. He also enjoyed playing through Life Is Strange 2 and got sucked into the cave-dwelling delights of Deep Rock Galactic. And willbuchanan is aiming to finish off Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend. He might even shoot for the platinum, which just depends on getting all of the outfits. That’s it for this week’s gaming round-up. Have a fun weekend, wrap up warm, and we’ll catch you again next week.

Following the abuse allegations against Activision Blizzard, the Lego Group has decided to step back from releasing its brand new Overwatch 2-themed Lego set on February 1. This exclusive licensing agreement between Activision Blizzard’s partnership with Lego for exclusive licensing goes back to 2018. For now, the Lego Group has only paused the release of […]

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Originally due for release in February, it looks like we might have to wait a little longer for future Overwatch…

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LEGO is officially halting the release of a new Overwatch 2 themed set due to the sexual harassment allegations still orbiting the game’s publisher, Activision Blizzard. Originally, LEGO had planned to launch the first in its range of Overwatch 2 products next month. The Overwatch 2 Titan (76980) was due to hit shelves on February 1, 2022, though this is no longer the case. In a statement, LEGO explains the reason behind the delay: We are currently reviewing our partnership with Activision Blizzard, given concerns about the progress being made to address continuing allegations regarding workplace culture, especially the treatment of female colleagues and creating a diverse and inclusive environment. While we complete the review, we will pause the release of a LEGO Overwatch 2 product which was due to go on sale on February 1, 2022. Activision Blizzard is still mired in controversy following allegations of serious sexual harassment and assault, culminating in a lawsuit filed in July 2021. This has led to the high profile departure of senior employees and a tumble in share price, the company claiming that it will do better to improve its workplace culture. However, current and former staff have been vocal in saying that change hasn’t been felt, especially with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick still in charge. This isn’t the first time Overwatch has been effected by these ongoing allegations. Fan favourite hero, McCree, was renamed last year when character’s namesake, Jesse McCree, left Blizzard after photographs emerged implicating him in the ongoing DFEH investigation and lawsuit. Where is Overwatch 2? Overwatch 2 was announced a couple of years back at BlizzCon 2019. Currently, the game has no firm release date set though it’s expected to release some time in 2022. Development on the standalone sequel has undoubtedly been impacted by the ongoing pandemic crisis, as well as the fallout from the recent sexual harassment allegations and lawsuits. Featuring a roster of both new and returning heroes, Overwatch 2 will features additional competitive game modes as well as co-op missions and a much bigger emphasis on storytelling. Source: The Brick Fan

The set will be on pause as it reviews its partnership with the publisher Reports and allegations coming out of...

The post Lego delays Overwatch 2 set over Activision Blizzard allegations appeared first on Destructoid.

Lego has decided to delay a new Overwatch 2 LEGO set, as the company continues to review its relationship with Activision Blizzard due to misconduct and harassment allegations against the game developer.

Lego has announced it is indefinitely suspending the release of its Overwatch 2 Titan set, initially scheduled to launch on 1st February, in light of ongoing concerns related to Activision Blizzard's workplace culture - which was described as a "breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women" in a California State lawsuit launched last July.

The controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard has only deepened since then; November saw the release of a damning Wall Street Journal report detailing further alleged sexual harassment, assault, and inappropriate behaviour at the company - with the publication levying particular criticism at CEO Bobby Kotick, claiming he'd been aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct and mistreatment of female employees across the company "for years".

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