Activision Blizzard CEO to Receive $200 Million Payout

Investor Group CtW unhappy about the situation

Following yesterday’s announcement that Activision Blizzard would be laying off around 50 of its employees from its esports divisions due to losses incurred by the coronavirus pandemic, the company has reported today that its CEO, Bobby Kotick, is set to be receiving a $200 million payout.

Originally reported on by Gamespot earlier today, Kotick’s payoff will be coming from the “Shareholder Value Creation Incentive” provision which was included in his employment agreement. While certain parts of it are complicated, the most important part of the incentive is the fact that it allows Kotic to receive full performance equity payouts from previous years, regardless of whether or not company milestones were actually reached. Because of this, Kotick will be able to reap financial rewards from as far back as 2017—a fact that CtW Investment Group, which has invested in Activision Blizzard, isn’t happy about.

Bobby Kotick

“While the increase in Activision’s stock price is somewhat commendable, as we stated last year and continue to assert, this achievement alone does not justify such a substantial pay outcome for the CEO,” Director of Executive Compensation Research at CtW Investment Group Michael Varner said. “There are many factors that may contribute to a rise in this particular company’s stock price that may not be directly attributable to Robert Kotick’s leadership. The use of video games as one of the few entertainment options available amid the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, has been a boon to many companies in the gaming industry irrespective of executive talent or strategic decisions.”

Kotick himself may be happy, but it doesn’t sound like things are going too well for Activision Blizzard this week overall. What are your thoughts on the company’s latest goings-on? Do you feel as though Kotick deserves his payout? Do you feel it’s unjust? Let us know in the comments below!

Kenny McKee

Starting out with nothing more than a Game Boy and a copy of Donkey Kong Land, Kenny has happily been gaming for almost his entire life. Easily-excitable and a bit on the chatty side, Kenny has always been eager to share gaming-related thoughts, opinions, and news with others and has been doing so on Hey Poor Player since 2014 and has previously worked with both PKMNcast and SCATcast. Although his taste in gaming spreads across a wide number of companies and consoles, Kenny holds a particular fondness for Nintendo handheld consoles. He is also very proud of his amiibo collection. You can also find him on Twitter @SuperBayleef talking about video games and general nonsense. Some of his favorite games include Tetris Attack, Pokémon Black Version 2, The World Ends With You, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, Yo-kai Watch, Donkey Kong Country 2, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Kirby's Dreamland 3, Mega Man X, and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (among many others).