Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is officially stepping down on December 29. Microsoft did not name a direct replacement, instead moving Activision Blizzard executives, including Blizzard President Mike Ybarra, Activision President Rob Kostich and Activision Blizzard Vice President Thomas Tipple, under Microsoft President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty.

Kotyk’s departure comes just two months after a major change in Xbox leadership that saw Sarah Bond promoted to president of Xbox and Matt Booty to president of game content and studios, including overseeing Bethesda and ZeniMax studios. Booty now has even more responsibilities, with Bethesda, Activision Blizzard and Xbox Game Studios all under his leadership.

Microsoft generally keeps Activision Blizzard’s executive team in place, except for some personnel. Activision Blizzard’s chief communications officer, Lulu Meservey, will leave the company at the end of January. Humam Sakhnini, vice chairman of Blizzard and King, will also leave at the end of December. Some Activision Blizzard executives will leave in March.

Additionally, Matt Booty’s letter announced changes coming to ZeniMax and Bethesda. Jill Braff has been named the new head of these studios, and Bethesda director and executive producer Todd Howard will report directly to her. Braff served on the integration team when ZeniMax and Bethesda joined Xbox in 2021, and will also lead the studio’s development teams.

Activision Blizzard summed up its 44-year history with an infographic

Source: The Verge