Bobby Kotick Defends Activision-Microsoft Sale Amid Lawsuit

Activision-Microsoft Sale Defense

• 💡 Former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick defended the company's sale to Microsoft, claiming it was a necessary move for Activision's future.
• ⚖️ Investors filed a lawsuit alleging Kotick rigged the $69 billion sale to secure his job and $400 million in benefits, and to avoid accountability for widespread sexual harassment claims.
• 💬 Kotick's defense cited a 60% decline in Call of Duty sales and all-time low console sales, suggesting Activision leadership showed foresight in the transaction.

Gaming Market Performance

• 📉 While Kotick's specific 60% sales decline claim lacked evidence, the broader market did experience a downturn, with November 2025 being the worst November for hardware and physical software sales since 1995.
• 🎮 Xbox Series hardware sales were down 70% year-over-year, marking the company's worst month on record.
• ⚠️ Critics suggest Kotick's departure, following a 2021 workplace misconduct lawsuit, appeared more like an escape from turbulence than a display of business acumen.

Meta's VR Gaming Restructuring

• ✂️ Meta is implementing sweeping cuts to its VR gaming division, laying off approximately 10% of staff at Reality Labs and shifting focus away from the metaverse.
• 🏢 The restructuring includes the closure of several VR-focused studios, such as Twisted Pixel, Armature Studio, and Szaru Games.
• ⏳ Many of these studios, some with decades of history and prior acquisitions, were recently acquired by Meta only to be shut down within a few years.

PlayStation Plus & Humble Choice Updates

• 🚀 PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra subscribers will receive new game additions in January, including popular titles like Resident Evil Village and Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth.
• 🕹️ Other games joining the PS+ catalog are Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game, Darkest Dungeon 2, and Art of Rally, with Ridge Racer exclusive to Premium subscribers.
• 🎁 January's Humble Choice bundle offers a variety of PC games for $14.99, featuring titles such as Sonic Frontiers, Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered, and Hunt Showdown 1896.