Kotick claims Overwatch 2 & Diablo 4 delays affected ATVI stock more than abuse lawsuit
According to Bobby Kotick, the ongoing toxicity and leadership issues at Activision Blizzard didn't affect the company as much as its major game delays.
In the fallout of the announcement that Microsoft is attempting to buy Activision Blizzard, current CEO Bobby Kotick has appeared to be circling the wagons more than ever in regards to the company’s performance and leadership’s response to toxic workplace and abuse allegations. Even as a Raven Software QA strike is still ongoing, Kotick recently took an interview in which one of his claims were that game delays at the company had a bigger affect on company stock than the various allegations and issues the company is facing.
Kotick’s claim about the Activision Blizzard stock was brought up in an interview with GamesBeat, where he spoke to the upcoming Microsoft acquisition of Activison Blizzard. When asked specifically about the ongoing lawsuit from California, allegations against Activision Blizzard, and its affect on the stock, Kotick dismissed said issues as the cause, instead claiming Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2’s delays were bigger factors.
Kotick is correct on a couple matters: Stock price does jump and fall for a variety of reasons and Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4’s delays did have an effect on the company. However, a look at the Activision Blizzard (ATVI) stock chart above tells a bigger and somewhat different story in contrast to Kotick’s claims. The following are some selected events and apparent, estimated Activision Blizzard stock price reactions, including the Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 delay:
- November 2, 2021: Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 delayed. ATVI moves $79.35 to $66.75 per share (-$12.60)
- July 21, 2021: California DFEH files lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. ATVI moves $91.50 to $84.05 per sahre (-$7.45)
- September 20, 2021: Reports of SEC investigating Activision Blizzard over misconduct. ATVI moves $79.56 to $72.81 per share (-$7.05)
- Addendum: Blizzard Chief Legal Officer also resigns.
- November 16, 2021: WSJ publishes report including abuse allegations against Bobby Kotick. ATVI moves $70.43 to $62.67 per share (-$7.76)
- Addendum: Kotick alleged to have forged 'tone deaf' company email in Frances Townsend's name.
This is to say that if several events are compared against a chart of Activision Blizzard’s stock activity over the year, the Overwatch and Diablo delays make for a single (and most noteworthy) $12.60 drop per share, but selected major events directly related to Activision Blizzard’s ongoing scandals amount to an estimated $22.26 drop in share value.
Again, it is not so clearcut as there are multiple factors affecting the rise and fall of stock price. However, a certainty is that Activision Blizzard’s stock price has suffered over the course of the previous year, before and during the company’s toxicity and misconduct woes. That and Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s view of Activision Blizzard’s handling of the situation continues to leave Kotick’s position in the company in question if the deal goes through, but time will tell. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for further info and updates.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, Kotick claims Overwatch 2 & Diablo 4 delays affected ATVI stock more than abuse lawsuit
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Hahahaha. You're such a dick, Kotick.
Nope. It's you. You're the asshole. -
Those delays? Apparently Koticks fault too by pulling people off to work on projects that never came to fruition
https://www.gamesradar.com/overwatch-2-producer-claims-ceo-contributed-to-delays-with-months-of-lost-dev-time/ -
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It's disruptive to fire him instantly (not to mention he gets a $300M payout).
They have to do a lot of background knowledge transfer etc. in the coming months.
My hope is he's gone but who knows. These are giant corporations not people. -
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I guess I don't understand what you're arguing for here. You asked why else is kotick still in charge and I'm saying the only reason he's still in charge is because of the sale of the company. If the sale of the company hadn't been in the works he'd have been out the door due to the press and shareholder pressure in addition to not delivering any actual products.
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If the sale of the company hadn't been in the works he'd have been out the door due to the press and shareholder pressure in addition to not delivering any actual products.
And I'm saying that the press and shareholder pressure has a much smaller impact than the delayed games.
This deal started at least last year and it won't be at least another year + delays due to regulations before they actually sell. Also, they always have a back up person taking part of this. No one is dumb enough to put everything on one mortal. They would have another person that could confidently complete the deal in his place.
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An insider source tells me upper mgmt isn’t too happy with OW2 and may never launch and will soon be scrapped. The already developed assets will be used on a new MMO called Titan.
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Did he tell his new boss Phil that too?
Do you like your new boss, Bobby? -
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