Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has responded to a lawsuit objecting to Microsoft’s 2022 purchase of Activision Blizzard in a long statement that makes a number of intriguing, non-verified claims.
As reported by Game File, amongst these claims is an allegation that Call of Duty sales are down 60% year-on-year, and that the decision to sell Activision Blizzard to Microsoft was a result of clever foresight, in that regard.
The overarching lawsuit alleges that Kotick rushed the sale of Activision Blizzard to move beyond other allegations facing the game studio, and claims the deal should be invalidated due to unconsidered factors.
Call of Duty‘s alleged downturn – quick links
Bobby Kotick’s response to Activision Blizzard lawsuit
Responding to the lawsuit, in a filing made in December 2025 and recently publicly released, Kotick denies the allegations and amongst other responses, claims Activision Blizzard shareholders should be grateful of the swift deal, due to falling game sales.
Per Game File, Kotick said: ‘Today, given that console sales are at an all-time low and Call of Duty sales are off over 60% from the prior year, Plaintiff should be expressing extreme gratitude for the foresight Activision leadership demonstrated in consummating this transaction.’
In another part of the response, he reportedly said: ‘All told, had the deal not gone through, this would have likely resulted in a substantially lower stock price, as is easily established by Activision’s financial performance post-closing, which has been far below the ambitious targets contained in the plans.’
Kotick alleges competition from other titles, including Battlefield, has impacted Call of Duty overall, and thereby that this fact ‘defeated argument about Call of Duty’s purported monopoly and the lack of competition in the first-person action game category.’
Kotick implies Call of Duty sales justify Microsoft’s acquisition
The implication appears to be that shareholders have been saved, as Kotick had the foresight to predict a downturn in game sales that would’ve significantly impacted the company’s bottom line, without the support of new parent company, Microsoft.
These claims are not verified by data, and given Kotick has not been part of Activision Blizzard since 2023, it’s unclear where this information was gathered. As Game File points out, it’s important to take Kotick’s comments with a grain of salt, but that hasn’t stopped his claims from spreading online.
Activision Blizzard has not responded to these allegations, as of writing. Should an official statement be made, this article will be updated with the formal response.
Also on ScreenHub: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 interview: ‘We wanted to tap into something that’s really human’
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels set to be an entirely different beast to previous releases, with early trailers revealing a game of surreal sights and psychological warfare. According to Miles Leslie, Associate Creative Director at Treyarch, the team wanted to tell a more personal, relatable story this time around, using a chemical weapon as a catalyst for a deeper exploration of Black Ops‘ heroes.
‘With this game, what we really wanted to tap into is something that’s really human,’ Leslie tells ScreenHub. ‘We wanted to really ground the game in something everyone has, which is fears and regrets, and past decisions – and I think humans just constantly dwell on that.’
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