Former CEO of Activision Blizzard, Independent
Search every verified Bobby Kotick interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, has continued to make public appearances and comments on a range of topics following the completion of Microsoft's acquisition of his company. In a May 2025 interview at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Kotick described the event as "a reminder of how important capitalism is as the foundation of democracy." He also expressed concerns about U.S. fiscal policy, stating that "neither one of the political parties seems to have a huge appetite for really going after spending" and that "K through 12 US expenditures are something in the neighborhood of a trillion dollars but we're now at a place where kids are graduating at 30% of their grade level expectation." Kotick has also discussed his philanthropic focus on veterans' employment, noting that veterans are "two to three times less likely than an ordinary citizen to find a job." Kotick has reflected on his tenure at Activision Blizzard and the Microsoft deal in various interviews. He stated that the company was "very surprised" by the workplace culture allegations filed against it, but said they were resolved "in a way where the bulk of that money is going to our employees, not to the state." He described the Microsoft acquisition as a response to the need for talent in AI and machine learning, saying "Microsoft is clearly right now the leader in AI and machine learning." Kotick has also shared anecdotes about his career, including a story about Steve Jobs insisting he drop out of college, and has commented on the video game industry's evolution, noting that "smartphones became the dominant form of delivery devices for video games" and that the industry has seen "the democratization of video games."
“For me, you know this is probably the most important event that's a reminder of how important capitalism is as the foundation of democracy and so that's, you know, it's almost like a religious experience from that perspective just the constant reminder of like how integral to our democracy capitalism is.”
“There's been historically a lot more volatility in markets than what we've seen in the last five years. I have to admit I'm throwing out all these shareholder questions I had as a result because it was what's going on with the treasury markets, are they going to dump foreign ownership of these things, what's going to h...”
“If you think about where we are fiscally as a country, you know 37.12 trillion and growing of debt for now more than 5 years, a debt to GDP ratio at 120% or more, you know I think one of the things that we have to start to come to terms with is you can't have successive years of a trillion and a half and 2 trillion dol...”
“It's not just federal spending, it's going to be municipal spending, state spending but spending has gotten out of control and you know when you think about 5% of individual taxpayers contributing 66% of taxes and 20 companies contributing 25% of corporate taxes, we need to do a better job of making sure that we're not...”
“Neither one of the political parties seems to have a huge appetite for really going after spending. Doge is trying to make things more efficient but if you don't go after some of the big ticket items whether that's social security, whether it's Medicare, whether it's defense spending, if you don't go after some of the...”
“Medicaid and Medicare in the last four years are up 45 to 50%. That's just not sustainable.”
“K through 12 US expenditures are something in the neighborhood of a trillion dollars but we're now at a place where kids are graduating at 30% of their grade level expectation, graduating in math and science and reading at 30% of grade level.”
“He pulls out the Prototype of the Macintosh, he turns it on and the hello comes up. I would say to this day of like moments other than when I saw the Prototype of the Wii, there's not another moment where like I looked and thought the world is changing.”
“The whole company wasn't making any money, only World of Warcraft was making any money.”
“150 million people churned out of World of Warcraft, wow it's a crazy number.”
“People paying $15 a month like it was the best subscription business of all time.”
“Come up with value added services, come up with new things to sell but just leave the price there.”
“A prickly audience and like even a dollar increase would have been a problem.”
“Do you think great entertainment comes from market research? You're in the entertainment business, that's not how you make great entertainment.”
“Right now we have two generations of failed public school education. But if you can actually give kids the opportunity to learn in a way that is appropriate for the way they learn, A.I. tools are uniquely suited for doing that.”
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett presides over the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. CNBC's ...
Bobby Kotick had seen plenty of tech demos, but only two ever made him stop in his tracks. One was the Nintendo Wii. The other?
150 million players churned out of World of Warcraft—it was the most profitable MMO of all time. Could Blizzard have raised prices? Maybe. But as Bobby Kotick explains, even a single dollar increase could have sparked backlash. Instead, he believed in value-added services over price hikes—a philosophy that shaped one of gaming’s most iconic business models. In this episode of Grit, Kotick shares the high-stakes choices and defining moments that shaped some of gaming’s biggest success stories. Tune in to this episode with the link in the comments. #podcast #worldofwarcraft
“Do you think The Godfather came from a focus group?” Steve Jobs didn’t mince words when it came to creativity. In episode #229 of Grit, Bobby Kotick recalls a meeting about Toy Story 2 where Steve Jobs reacted sharply to a document filled with market research. The final straw? A page of focus group results. Jobs made one thing abundantly clear: True innovation can't be crowdsourced. Tune in for the full episode with the links in the comments. #grit #podcast #stevejobs #toystory #innovation
CNBC’s Julia Boorstin and former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick join 'Squawk Box' to discuss his latest philanthropic ventures, the impact of AI on the economy and the workforce, the need for a reciprocal trade with China, state of the 2024 election, and more. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/42d859g » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader…
Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard founder and CEO, joins 'Squawk box' to discuss his 32-year tenure leading the company, Microsoft's acquisition deal, future of Activision Blizzard, next steps for Kotick, and more.
Microsoft finally completed its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, capping off a nearly two-year fight with regulators.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says the deal will help Activision compete in the gaming space and Microsoft will be a "perfect home" ...
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, after U.K.'s ...
Sign in to search the full transcript archive, filter by topic, and access every quote from Bobby Kotick.
The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →