About Bobby Kotick
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."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Bobby Kotick's recent appearances.
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Transcript (17 segments)
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Interviewer0:10
Focused now on a number of philanthropic ventures. Bobby, AI is a huge topic here in Sun Valley. And all of your not-for-profit work comes back to AI and how it can be used as a tool to drive change in this economy. What are you working on right now?
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Bobby Kotick0:27
So it's really exciting if you see the amount of progress that's taking place from a lot of the new tools in AI. Large language models are uniquely suited for certain kinds of work. So if you think about education, especially K-12 education, right now we have two generations of failed public school education for a variety of reasons. But if you can actually give kids the opportunity to learn in a way that is appropriate for the way they learn. So if you're a visual learner, change it. Look at the Khan Academy, the most forward-thinking person figuring out how to use AI. One of the things I like about that model is it's not limited to a school. He goes direct to the kid or direct to the family, and so I think you can see lots of opportunities to have direct-to-kid opportunities for the way we change how you learn.
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Interviewer1:37
And also very focused on veterans employment. When it comes to employment and concerns about employment in this country, there's a lot of concern that AI is going to be taking jobs away, and sort of replacing a whole swath of workers. Are you concerned about AI having a negative impact in the workforce?
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Bobby Kotick1:56
No. AI will be the exact opposite. Think about the population of veterans today that are able, capable, and unemployed. Something like 300,000 to 400,000 able and capable unemployed veterans, all of whom have skill training opportunities for new categories of employment. So AI, I think, will be a really important way for us to train, educate, and develop new skills that are going to be necessary for the economy that aren't necessarily taught in the military.
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Interviewer2:39
Well, a nice optimistic note about AI providing jobs instead of taking them away. You have a new venture, philanthropic venture you're working on. Center for Government Accountability. Haven't announced this yet. What is it? Tell us what this new initiative is.
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Bobby Kotick2:55
Look over the last, let's actually identify things that then give you, in law enforcement, the ability to prosecute those corrupt public officials have actually weakened. And one of the benefits of AI is that you'll be able to do things. A great example: Freedom of Information requests that are important for your work or public records requests. The automation of that process, the ability to actually synthesize all of what you gain in a Freedom of Information Act request or a Public Records Act request can be automated through AI, and you can then provide district attorneys, attorneys general, even the DOJ with access to tools and technology that they won't be able to easily get on their own. District attorneys, attorney generals, they don't have the money to be able to get access to the very best AI talent or the very best custom AI tools, but they need it.
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Interviewer4:21
When it comes to the government and accountability, sort of more broadly, you've been pushing for reciprocal trade with China, saying if they limit the way video games or social media is distributed in China, you want reciprocal trade. What's happening here in the US? The president spoke about this last night. What's your perspective on reciprocal trade now and what should happen with China, especially given a big panel here on China when the secretary spoke on yesterday?
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Bobby Kotick4:55
I think the secretary's actually been leading the charge about trade in China. You know, we have an enormous amount of trade with China, and right now the rules and regulations don't allow US companies to operate without being in a joint venture that's usually owned and controlled by a Chinese company. The government in China will have the choice. For example, Tesla can operate in China on its own. I think if we add a reciprocal framework employed in China, that industry, the Chinese companies are participating in an industry with joint ventures in the US. Many of those technology-related industries could have information security requirements, security clearances. But it would give you the required to provide for companies in China.
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Interviewer6:13
Do you feel the government is moving in that direction or what's the chance of that happening?
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Bobby Kotick6:17
Think about it. The president last night largely focused on NATO, but he actually specifically brought up reciprocal trade and the need for this reciprocal trade framework. Leader Schumer has been focused on it. In a bipartisan committee led by Mike Gallagher focused only on reciprocal trade. Probably the most bipartisan piece of legislation discussed right now in the government.
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Interviewer6:44
Speaking of the president, a huge focus here on this coming presidential election. Looking big picture at the administration and you're talking about the different pieces of this. What kind of administration do you think would be best suited for economic growth and for running it should be the most sophisticated capable people who run large complex organizations.
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Bobby Kotick7:10
A very brief answer.
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Interviewer7:21
I'm guessing you don't want to name any names here?
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Bobby Kotick7:27
That's not something I spend a lot of time on.
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Interviewer7:30
A quick question. It's reported you're interested in buying TikTok. Speaking of ByteDance.
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Bobby Kotick7:39
I read that, too. I'm more interested in China.
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Interviewer7:43
Yes or no on TikTok? Future CEO of TikTok down the line?
