Was Responsible for the Success of CoD, Destiny, Skylanders and More
It has been announced that Eric Hirshberg is leaving Activision after serving eight years as CEO of Activision Publishing. He will continue to stay on until March and once a replacement has been found.
Hirshberg ran a major division of Activision Blizzard where he was responsible for the success of many of Activision’s most profitable games and franchises including Call of Duty, Skylanders, Destiny, and Crash Bandicoot N’Sane Trilogy.
“Serving as Activision’s CEO has been an honor and a thrill,” said Hirshberg in a statement. “This is an amazing company. One which routinely delivers epic experiences for our fans on a scale that no one else can. I have nothing but admiration for the incredible team I have had the privilege to lead. And I have nothing but appreciation for Bobby for giving me this transformational opportunity, and also for having the vision and conviction to champion a creative person for a leadership role on this scale.”
Hirshberg would regularly report to Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, who also thanked him for his service:
“During Eric’s tenure we’ve had historic performance and great successes,” said Kotick, in a statement. “He is an inspiring leader, and we will all miss his creativity and tenacity very much. He is leaving the team, the franchises and the business in a great place, and he goes with my full support and appreciation.”
Hirshberg is stepping away on a high note thanks to the excellent blockbuster sales of Call of Duty: WWII and Destiny 2. Both games were the No. 1 and No. 2 top-selling games in the US in 2017. Additionally, Call of Duty was the top-selling video game franchise for the past nine years.