Bobby Kotick Considered Buying Kotaku and PC Gamer, Rumor Claims
Before the announcement of the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft, Bobby Kotick was said to have been considering his own purchases. According to rumors, the CEO suggested improving the company's image - by buying Kotaku and PC Gamer.
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has made waves throughout the industry. However, even this huge deal failed to completely drown out the criticism aimed at the controversial actions of Call of Duty's publisher. This is unlikely to change in the near future, especially since shortly after the acquisition was announced, the Wall Street Journal reported on Bobby Kotick's past plans. The newspaper claims that at one time the CEO of Activision Blizzard considered improving the company's image by... buying gaming websites PC Gamer and Kotaku.
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The information is said to come from people familiar with Kotick, though the Journal noted that Helaine Klasky (a spokesperson for Activision Blizzard) denied the reports, PC Gamer did not respond to Wall Street Jornal's request for comment on the matter, and G/O Media (Kotaku's parent company) outright refused to address the issue. The publisher also accused the newspaper that its articles created a "misleading picture of the company," including addressing the alleged failure to inform management of allegations of employee mistreatment.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Bobby Kotick had been suggesting "some sort of acquisition" for weeks, including the aforementioned websites. The newspaper didn't delve further into this admittedly bizarre idea, but it did mention another matter. According to the newspaper's sources, Kotick will remain at Activision Blizzard only until the purchase of the company by Microsoft is finalized, i.e. until June 2023 at the latest.
