According to Wallstreet Journal, Kotick Wanted to “Change the Public Narrative” With Purchases
Kotick and Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard exploded all of the news yesterday. The fact that Blizzard is in the midst of being purchased, especially after Microsoft had been speaking of reevaluating their relationship with the company is a huge surprise to everyone, causing ripples in the gaming company. Too, it looks as if Kotick will be stepping down. And it looks as if the change did not come too soon.
According to the Wallstreet Journal, which has been covering Activision Blizzard, and Bobby Kotick, closely over the past year, Kotick had plans to change public opinion. Not by attempting to clean things up (though apparently that’s been happening in the past year), but by, basically, buying public opinion.
It seems that Kotick had been looking to purchase gaming news websites PC Gamer and Kotaku to shift, if not outright suppress, the news coverage of what was happening at Activision Blizzard. At least, that’s what was hinted at in the report itself.
Which is a very amusing thought, and an alarming one. While PC Gamer has presented in-depth and in detail what they uncovered, Kotaku has ripped into Kotick with every critical report – presenting the facts as well as saying how much Kotick, and Blizzard, were doing people wrong. If the deals had gone through, it is possible that Kotick would have had people try to focus on this new acquisition, rather then of the negative news reports of what the company has been up to.
Activision Blizzard has, of course, denied this claim. At this point, it’s difficult to say what is the truth or not, according to them. But, as of right now, G/O Media, owners of Kotaku, have declined to comment on this possible purchase, and global editor-in-chief of PC Gamer Evan Lahti, giving a rather funny response to Eurogamer’s request for comment. “This is an awfully strong reaction to us giving the last Call of Duty a 60,” said Lahti.
It seems so. While this is not PC Gamer saying yes or no to what may or may not have happened, gamers will be breathing a sigh of relief once Kotick steps down, and Microsoft takes over Blizzard completely.