Bobby Kotick Declares Former EA Boss John Riccitiello 'Worst CEO in Video Games'

In a recent appearance on the Grit podcast, former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick didn't hold back his opinions about ex-EA CEO John Riccitiello, branding him as "the worst CEO in video games." This comment was made in the presence of Bing Gordon, former EA chief creative officer, who suggested that Riccitiello's leadership had accelerated his exit from the company. Despite acknowledging that EA's business model was in many ways superior to Activision's, Kotick humorously remarked that they "would have paid for Riccitiello to stay a CEO forever," underscoring his critical view of Riccitiello's leadership.

Riccitiello, who led EA from 2007 until his departure in 2013 amid poor financial performance and significant layoffs, had once proposed to shareholders the idea of charging Battlefield players a dollar for each gun reload. Following his time at EA, Riccitiello took the helm at Unity Technologies in 2014, but his tenure there ended in 2023 amidst controversy over proposed install fees that were later retracted. His time at Unity was also marked by contentious statements, such as his apology for calling developers who didn't embrace microtransactions "the biggest f*cking idiots."

Kotick, who oversaw Activision Blizzard's monumental $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed that EA had made multiple attempts to acquire Activision. He praised EA's business as more stable than Activision's, despite the competitive nature of their merger discussions.

Kotick's own leadership at Activision Blizzard was financially successful but not without its controversies. The company faced numerous allegations of sexism and a toxic work environment, culminating in employee walkouts and a lawsuit from California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July 2021. The lawsuit alleged a retaliatory "frat boy" culture, but a $54 million settlement reached in December 2023 found no substantiation for systemic sexual harassment or improper handling of misconduct by the board, including Kotick.

In the same interview, Kotick also critiqued Universal's 2016 adaptation of Activision Blizzard's Warcraft, describing it as "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."