Talk:Bobby Kotick

Quality

"He is on a couple of company boards" great article, Wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.191.15.34 (talk) 17:44, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

Untitled

The "facts" here seem highly biased.

+1 --213.216.199.22 15:17, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Sourcing Quotes

Shouldn't need to be said, but if you're going to quote Kotick saying something controversial, try to go find the original source. The way these things work is Kotick says something, and then someone halfway respectable will quote it with some but not all of the context, and then someone else will quote it with no context, and then it will become a meme, and them someone sources the meme for the Wikipedia article. Kotick may be firmly on the side of the dollars, not the players, but he's not an idiot, and being able to note where he said things, to whom, and in reply to what question really makes a difference to the article quality. Thanks. - DustFormsWords (talk) 05:37, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

The claim I removed yesterday

The claim the article makes is that this created a stir. The source does not support that claim, and that is the crucial claim in this case per WP:BLP.

Further, it looks to me like he may have been joking with that statement, however he was responded to in the press and player worlds.

And yes, I did actually read said citation prior to removal. :) --Izno (talk) 17:47, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

- My apologies, I'd assumed you meant the other phrase you deleted. Of course there are plenty of sources for the "stir" statement, I'll go add some now. - DustFormsWords (talk) 09:44, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

Request for semi-protect

I've made a request on the appropriate page to get this article semi-protected again. Doesn't seem like the IP vandalism is likely to stop until Kotick leaves the gaming industry or finds a way to become popular. - DustFormsWords (talk) 05:39, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

As hated as this man is I don't see any way out of page protection. Furthermore I don't think it will end when he leaves gaming.131.247.83.135 (talk) 20:40, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Gamers have short memories for people. Howard Scott Warshaw sees very little vandalism these days. - DustFormsWords (talk) 00:09, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Pending changes

This article is one of a number (about 100) selected for the early stage of the trial of the Wikipedia:Pending Changes system on the English language Wikipedia. All the articles listed at Wikipedia:Pending changes/Queue are being considered for level 1 pending changes protection.

The following request appears on that page:

Comments on the suitability of theis page for "Penfding changes" would be appreciated.

Please update the Queue page as appropriate.

Note that I am not involved in this project any much more than any other editor, just posting these notes since it is quite a big change, potentially

Regards, Rich Farmbrough, 23:46, 16 June 2010 (UTC).

• I have reviewer rights and am watching this page. Sound appropriate for pending changes. - DustFormsWords (talk) 00:29, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

The vandalism is rediculous. Good-faith users are accidentally reverting edits made by vandals themselves, I'm having problems with these confirmation edits. Someone should probably stop it. --Rockstonetalk to me! 02:14, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Tone of "Work with Activision Blizzard" section

This section, by calling attention to the difference in Kotick's actual and official salaries, seems to imply that his salary is undeserved. I feel that this does not represent a neutral, disinterested tone as required by Wikipedia's BLP policy. Jarnhalr (talk) 14:39, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Low Importance?

This man is very important. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.64.219.185 (talk) 03:28, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Kotick heating up the battle between Activision and Electronic Arts.

Well, we all know that Activision and Electronic Arts have an eternal fight over supremacy in the video game market, but Kotick's been cranking up the attacks a few notches with some very public statements, which have the gaming community fuming, and EA going all out in retaliation.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/09/28/bobby-kotick-great-people-dont-really-want-to-work-at-ea/ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-09-27-bobby-kotick-slags-off-ea http://pc.ign.com/articles/112/1123599p1.html http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/82228/bobby-kotick-ea-has-lost-its-way/ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=266746 http://www.next-gen.biz/news/kotick-ea-is-suffocating-studios

Might be worth mentioning here and in the Activision article. Torinir ( Ding my phone My support calls E-Support Options ) 16:32, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

And he's taking shots at Vince Zampella and Jason West: [1] Torinir ( Ding my phone My support calls E-Support Options ) 02:02, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

Recent changes to the article: possible conflict of interest?

User:Monstermike99 has made a large number of edits in the past month. Here's a comparison between before and after he revised the article. The changes that the user made to the article puts Kotick and Activision in a far more positive light than usual. For example, in his edits he added comments such as:

"...Activision Blizzard , the leading global online PC and console games publisher in the world best known for mega titles Guitar Hero , Call of Duty and World of Warcraft ."

and

"Yet within Activision, Kotick is recognized as the champion of the independent studio and of creative talent."

I would've reverted the edits, but there were, in fact, some beneficial, well-sourced additions to the article by the user, although some other previous useful sections of text were also removed. Anyone have any input on this matter?

--FlyingPenguins (talk) 06:04, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

Two questions: Is my revision better on the PoV concern, and what "useful sections"? --Izno (talk) 15:22, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

It looks a lot better now. And about the "useful sections" I mentioned, there were less of them than I thought. Here's one of them:

Kotick was also a Yahoo! board member from March 2003 to August 2008, and is currently a board member for the Center for Early Education, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Tony Hawk Foundation.

I added the sentence back myself (plus its references). --FlyingPenguins (talk) 03:09, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Died in 2011 Japan earthquake per Google missing person database

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/view?first_name=&id=japan.person-finder.appspot.com%2Fperson.2774429&last_name=&query=bob&role=seek&small=no —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.79.106.77 (talk) 11:49, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Even if it's true—which I doubt—we need something in a reliable source or press release, and preferably in English, before it's published. --Izno (talk) 22:26, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Cove Management & sexual harassment retaliation

To whomever has the keys to this locked site, please update this article with the Cynthia Madvig case. A reputable source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/08/activision-ceo-kotick-loses-battle-with-top-hollywood-litigator.html

If someone with authorization to update this page has the time, I wrote the following article based on the sources indicated. Edit it as you need to to conform to wiki standards.

--

Bobby Kotick and Andrew Gordon, head of Goldman Sachs investment banking division in Los Angeles, created Cove Management as a company to manage a private Gulfstream III private jet they jointly owned. They hired former actress Cynthia Madvig [2] as a flight attendant.

In 2006, pilot Phil Berg allegedly began a pattern of sexual harassment towards Madvig. She reported this to Gordon, who ignored her complaints. Shortly after she reported this harassment, Kotick fired her.

In January 2007, Madvig filed a lawsuit for sexual harassment, wrongful termination, failure to prevent sexual harassment, and retaliation against her for reporting sexual harassment. Kotick, Gordon, and Berg denied all allegations in February 2007. At this time, they were represented by law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

In April 2007, Kotick, who led the defense, switched attorneys to Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro. Patricia Glaser advised them to settle for $200,000. Kotick refused on principle, stating that "[he] would not be extorted and that [he] would ruin the Plaintiff and her attorney and see to it that Ms. Madvig would never work again."

Christensen, Glaser et al stopped representing Kotick in December 2007. Kotick hired the firm Bingham McCutcheon and then, in April 2008, also hired Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Kotick, Gordon, Berg, and Cove settled with Madvid in April 2008, paying $200,000 plus Madvig's legal fees of $475,000.

Legal Fees

Kotick paid Glaser's firm $200,000 in September 2007, stating that amount was a full settlement of their fees and costs. Glaser disagreed, claiming that the total amount owed was over $1 million. Following Kotick's settlement with Madvig, his dispute with Glaser's firm went into arbitration. In February 2009, Glaser's firm was awarded $938,458 plus $479,898 for legal fees and costs incurred in the arbitration, for a total of $1.42 million.

Kotick, who during the Madvig case stated that "[he] was worth one-half billion dollars and he didn’t mind spending some of it on attorneys’ fees" rather than settle, asked the court to reduce the award by $111,753. The court denied this request and ordered Kotick to pay Glaser in full. Kotick appealed to the California Court of Appeal. On July 6, 2010, the appeal court affirmed the lower court's ruling.

---

The wiki article as it stands now paints Kotick as some kind of visionary, and while it pays lipservice to the fact that there *is* controversy, nowhere does it show *why* so Kotick is so hated. The Madvig case at least paints a facet of the other side of Kotick's personality and helps to explain what kind of a person he is.

All the other "I hate Kotick" material, such as the legal battles with Infinity Ward or Valve, falls under the purview of Activision (though it's curiously absent from the Activision page). The Madvig case though is specific to the man himself.

Dead Link

At the end, the link is dead. Some good guy ought to replace it with http://www.geeks.co.uk/news/ents/7282-activision%E2%80%99s-bobby-kotick-hates-developers-innovation-cheap-games-you.html 82.228.90.221 (talk) 19:58, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

Coca-Cola

It was announced that on February the 16th that Kotick joined the Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company (source: Coca-Cola Press Release) — Preceding unsigned comment added by WorldExec (talk • contribs) 00:48, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Alright, it's added. --Bentendo24 (talk) 16:42, 18 February 2012 (UTC)

A redirect to this page has been nominated for deletion

Gaming Hitler a redirect to this page has been nominated for deletion at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2013 January 13#Gaming Hitler. Your views would be particularly relevant to the discussion as suggestion has been made to add reference to this or a similar term to this article. Thryduulf (talk) 21:20, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Ancestry

No mention of his jewish heritage? 24.190.209.14 (talk) 22:01, 14 November 2013 (UTC)

External links modified

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Recent source at FT

• Bradshaw, Tim (November 6, 2015). "Bobby Kotick, king of the gamers". Financial Times. Retrieved December 18, 2015.

Might be good to integrate this here and there. Best way to access it is probably through Google by Googling for the web address. --Izno (talk) 13:50, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

Undisclosed paid editing tag

I'm adding this section so newcomers can see what triggered the COI tag. It was in the edit log but as edits grow it may be easier for people to find here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/IncidentArchive942#Earflaps Timtempleton (talk) 01:37, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

Blog coverage section title

I was going to change the Blog coverage title to Media coverage, since the sources discussed are not all blogs, but since it's a mix, would the title Media and blog coverage be better? Maybe a gamer who knows these sites better would like to comment? Timtempleton (talk) 01:48, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 April 2017

Bobby Kotick is currently dating Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.  DayraLM (talk) 16:20, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. Also, HuffPo isn't the best source for BLPs EvergreenFir (talk) 02:26, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

References

Paid editor tag take down

To fix the problem at first I was going to reword the paid editor's content - almost the whole page is added by him, though! Only option to root out all the possible promotional material was going back to before it was messed with, in 2015. I didn't take out edits added by other editors, though, so not all the hard work has been undone. Sorry it looks less pretty now, but the new maintenance templates should be simple fast to fix. Yosshi! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Yosshi! (talk • contribs) 22:33, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

I'm finally taking that maintenance template tag I put at the top off, just made the first part more complete. Yosshi! (talk) 19:55, 21 August 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

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bobbykotick.org

His website, bobbykotick.org, currently redirects to this Wikipedia article. Maybe point it to the Internet Archive archive, for now, in the infobox and external links section. --77.173.90.33 (talk) 16:30, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

I removed the link instead. A dead website for a living person is not really of much purpose. Lordtobi (✉) 17:15, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 August 2019

Add Bobby Kotick Ranked 45th most Overpaid CEO under his Honors and recognition section. Source: https://www.asyousow.org/report/the-100-most-overpaid-ceos-2019#introduction-2019 24.20.40.221 (talk) 17:39, 5 August 2019 (UTC)

 Not done. –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 03:02, 6 August 2019 (UTC)

This is not an "honor" since it is obviously negatively connoted, but it should be mentioned somewhere fittingly. Lordtobi (✉) 06:29, 6 August 2019 (UTC)

Then it needs an appropriate reliable source per WP:BLP. The unregistered user's source is not one such. --Izno (talk) 14:06, 6 August 2019 (UTC)

Heh, this shouldn't be a problem.[3][4][5][6] Lordtobi (✉) 15:20, 6 August 2019 (UTC)

Software made by him?

"Kotick began his career in 1983 while he was still in college at the University of Michigan, when he began creating software for the Apple II with financial backing from Steve Wynn."

What software did he make, and what was his role in its making? Did he program it or just oversee it? פֿינצטערניש (Fintsternish), she/her (talk) 16:30, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

@פֿינצטערניש: Consider reading the referenced article. --Izno (talk) 22:31, 24 November 2019 (UTC)

Jewish

He’s Jewish. Why does this keep getting deleted? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:98A:502:A730:80C2:6AA3:C106:9E1F (talk) 20:16, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

No source of sufficient reliability for a biography of a living person has been provided to show that he is Jewish or that he considers himself to be ethnically or religiously Jewish. Izno (talk) 21:52, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

I don't know why it keeps getting deleted. I can only guess that it has something to do with this sexual harassment scandal that he is embroiled in, that certain people don't want any sort of association between the two. I mean, you don't bat mitzvah your daughter unless you are Jewish. It's weird - it's as if these people making the deletions want Kotick to come out and make some sort of statement, "I AM JEWISH". I mean, I never mention my religion, if any, even in my personal life. It's weird - but there definately is some sort of agenda obviously.

I don't that the claim "you don't bat mitzvah your daughter unless you are Jewish." is actually true. It might in fact be the girl's mother who is Jewish.

--Óli Gneisti (talk) 19:12, 17 November 2021 (UTC)

If it is because of his sex scandal, it might because so many of the recent sex scandals in the headlines have been about Jews, i.e. Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, etc, and certain people don't want to add another name to the list. Just a guess. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.47.126.42 (talk) 12:11, 17 November 2021 (UTC)

Particular for statements related to faith/religion related to a BLP, WP requires high levels of quality reliable sources (and ideally, a statement from said person). What sources were used are weak, though they may be right. I am looking to see if there is such sourcing now but this likely requires more digging. --Masem (t) 16:54, 17 November 2021 (UTC)

Sexual harassment investigation

Hello,

The “Sexual harassment investigation” subsection lacks some of the balancing aspects and information that would ensure a neutral portrayal of the events. I'd like to propose that the information be summarized as follows, while adhering to the sensitivities laid out by WP:NPOV,WP:CRIT and WP:BLP. I've added some important additional information and sources as well:

In 2007, a flight attendant filed a lawsuit against Kotick, Andrew Gordon, and Cove Management, a company the two created to manage their privately-owned Gulfstream III jet. She claimed that a pilot hired by Cove had sexually harassed her, and that she had been wrongfully terminated after she had reported the incidents to Gordon. Cove eventually settled with the flight attendant. Kotick then became involved in litigation with the firm selected to defend him, Gordon, and Cove Management, in a dispute over legal fees. The court ruled in the firm’s favor and awarded it damages.

In July 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing announced it had filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard due to workplace misconduct and discrimination by several employees. Kotick was not named in the suit. In October 2021, Kotick asked the Activision Blizzard board to cut his salary to the lowest amount allowed by California law, and to not to receive any bonuses or be granted any equity amid lawsuits against the company. At the time, Kotick stated the company’s intention to invest in anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training and other reforms. In November, an article from The Wall Street Journal asserted that Kotick had been aware of the past allegations, and had protected an employee who sexually harassed from being fired. The article also asserted that Kotick had threatened to kill an assistant on their voice mail, though Activision Blizzard characterized this as “obviously hyperbolic.” In response to the allegations, Activision’s Board itself examined the claims made and retained an outside law firm and other advisors, including the former head of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Gilbert F. Casellas, to conduct independent reviews. In June 2022, the Board filed its findings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and a summary of the independent review’s findings in an 8-K filing. The Board’s statement expressed confidence that Kotick “appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention” and supported his efforts to lead the company, while others urged Kotick to resign or to be replaced in light of these allegations.

References

Pinging Masem as he is very involved in editing this article and has discussed a similar matter with me at Activision Blizzard previously. Thank you for your time, Sh-abkcomms (talk) 12:54, 2 November 2023 (UTC)

I looked through this and the sources and agree this is a more appropriate summary for WP's purpose, particulary in regards to the flight attendant. BLP1E and naming absolutely applies so we only need to mention Kotick by name here. I have added this appropriately. --Masem (t) 01:01, 3 November 2023 (UTC)

Masem thanks for looking this over and for making the changes. Much appreciated. Sh-abkcomms (talk) 15:07, 6 November 2023 (UTC)

Edit Request

Hello! I’m a friend of Bobby’s and would like to request some changes to his page to neutralize/ update the content.

1. Remove “(dropped out)” next to Education in the Infobox.

Reason: This reads as biased, and is explained further in the Early career section of the article.

2. Add “philanthropist” next to Occupation in the Infobox.

Reason: Bobby co-founded a non-profit that has helped thousands of individuals through funding and support.

3. Add a new line of “Term 1991-2023” to the Infobox below Title.

Reason: Provide more context to show Bobby’s active years as the CEO of Activision Blizzard.

4. Change the section titled “Early life” to “Early life and education.”

Reason: This section goes into detail about Bobby’s early life as well as his high school and college education and this change will reflect that.

5. Change the following sentence in the Early life and education section from “Robert A. Kotick was born in 1963 in the US, and grew up in Roslyn, Long Island, New York.”

To: “Robert A. Kotick was born on March 1, 1963, in the United States, and grew up in New York.”

Reason: A few minor grammatical changes, adding in a Wikilink, removing information not supported by the sourcing, and removing an invalid source to help the content read better and abide by Wikipedia guidelines.

Reference:

6. Remove second source from the following sentence “He studied art history at the University of Michigan in the early 1980s.”

Reason: Source is no longer valid.

Reference:

7. Change the following sentence in the Early career section from “While Kotick was still a student in 1983 at the University of Michigan, he started a technology company called Arktronics with friend Howard Marks in their dorm room.”

To: “While Kotick was still a student in 1983 at the University of Michigan, he started a software company called Arktronics with friend Howard Marks in their dorm room.”

Reason: Adjust terminology, remove an invalid source, and move a source to end of sentence to cite all of the information to abide by Wikipedia guidelines.

Reference:

8. Change the following sentence in the Early career section from “The two developed software for the Apple II.”

To: “He and his roommate developed a software called Jane for the Apple II.”

Reason: Minor grammatical change and include the software name to provide more context for readers.

Reference:

9. Change the following information in the Early career section from “During his second year, Kotick met and pitched Steve Wynn to invest in Arktronics. Wynn later invested $300,000 in the company.”

To: “Kotick convinced Steve Wynn to invest $300,000 in his startup.”

Reason: Remove unnecessary verbiage.

Reference:

10. Change the following information in the Early career section from “Steve Jobs heard about Arktronics' software. He met with Kotick and Marks in Ann Arbor and advised them to drop out of college to focus on the software business. Kotick took the advice and left the University of Michigan to focus all of his time on his company.”

To: “Steve Jobs met with Kotick and convinced him to drop out of college. Kotick took the advice and left the University of Michigan to focus on building his company.”

Reason: Remove unnecessary verbiage and information not supported by sourcing.

Reference:

11. Remove first source from the following sentence “He was unsuccessful in persuading Commodore's then-Chairman Irving Gould to sell control of the company.”

Reason: Source is no longer valid.

Reference:

12. Remove the following information from the Early career section “Kotick was CEO of Leisure Concepts from June 1990 to December 1990.”

Reason: Sourcing is outdated and no updated sourcing supports this information.

13. Change the following information in the Early career section from “In December 1990, Kotick and his partner Brian Kelly bought a 25% stake in the almost-bankrupt Activision, then known as Mediagenic.”

To: “In June 1990, Kotick became the CEO of Leisure Concepts, Nintendo’s third-party licensing agent. In December 1990, Kotick sold his stake in Leisure Concepts and purchased a 25% stake in the almost-bankrupt Activision, then known as Mediagenic, with business partner Brian Kelly.”

Reason: Provide more context to Bobby’s career and reworded for clarity.

14. Change the following information in the Early career section from “He changed the name back to Activision, performed a full restructuring of the company, and refocused the company on video games.”

To: “In 1991, Kotick changed the name back to Activision, performed a full restructuring of the company, and refocused the company on making and marketing video games.”

Reason: Provide a date and more information for context. Additionally, remove invalid source and add sourcing to support this content, as well as the content from the request above.

References:

15. Add source to the following sentence in the Early career section “Kotick became CEO of Activision in February 1991.”

Reason: Provides updated additional sourcing that abides by Wikipedia guidelines.

Reference:

16. Change the following information in the Early career section from “Kotick also served as a founder of International Consumer Technologies and was president from 1986 to January 1995. In 1995, International Consumer Technologies became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision.”

To: “Kotick founded International Consumer Technologies. In 1995, International Consumer Technologies became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision.”

Reason: Bobby was founder of the company and not co-founder, also reworded information to be better supported by source.

Reference:

17. Change the following information in the Activision Blizzard section from “In November 2006, Kotick started discussing a merger with the games division of Vivendi, a French entertainment conglomerate, which included Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra Entertainment.”

To: “In November 2006, Kotick entered into discussion with French media conglomerate Vivendi. Through its Vivendi Games subsidiary, it owned Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra Entertainment.”

Reason: Reworded for clarity.

Reference:

18. Change the following sentence in the Activision Blizzard section from “Kotick engineered the Activision Blizzard merger, which created a new company, Activision Blizzard.”

To: “Kotick engineered the merger, which created a new company, Activision Blizzard.”

Reason: Remove repetitive wording.

Reference:

19. Change the following sentence and source in the Activision Blizzard section from “Shareholders of Activision Blizzard approved Kotick as CEO of the combined company on July 9, 2008.”

To: “Shareholders of Activision Blizzard approved Kotick as CEO of the combined company in 2008.”

Reason: Sourcing doesn't support the exact date, only the year.

Reference:

20. Change the following sentence in the Activision Blizzard section from “Kotick said he aimed to build on Blizzard's successes in the Asian market to introduce Activision's games there.”

To: “Kotick said he aimed to build on Blizzard's successes, including expanding into Asia.”

Reason: Rewording for clarity.

Reference:

21. Change the following sentence in the Activision Blizzard section from “Kotick has used Activision Blizzard's industry position to push partners for changes that he maintains would benefit the gaming community. In July 2009, Kotick threatened to stop making games for the PlayStation 3 platform if Sony did not cut the price of the console.”

To: “Kotick used Activision Blizzard's industry position to push partners for changes that he believed would benefit the gaming community. In June 2009, Kotick considered halting the production of games for the PlayStation 3 platform if Sony did not cut the price of the console hardware to make it more affordable for gamers.”

Reason: Reworded for clarity and neutrality, as well as replaced source with Wikipedia approved sourcing.

22. Change the following sentence in the Activision Blizzard section from “Kotick also urged the British government to reward Activision for continuing to invest in the country's pool of game developers by providing Activision with the same kinds of tax incentives provided by Canada, Singapore, and eastern bloc countries.[17]”

To: “Kotick also urged the British government to reward game companies for continuing to invest in the country's pool of game developers by providing the same kinds of tax incentives provided by Canada, Singapore, and other countries.”

Reason: Rewording for clarity and removing unnecessary verbiage.

Reference:

23. Change the following information in the Activision Blizzard section from “In October 2016, Kotick announced the creation of Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League.[19] Earlier that same year, Activision had acquired companies such as King and Major League Gaming.[20]”

To: Kotick expanded Activision Blizzard’s mobile presence in 2016 when it acquired King, the creator of Candy Crush. He also acquired the professional esports organization Major League Gaming. Also in 2016, Kotick announced the creation of Activision Blizzard’s professional Overwatch League.

Reason: Provide more context on the acquisitions, add Wikilinks, and update source.

References:

24. Change the following information in the Activision Blizzard section from “In June 2017, Fortune reported that Kotick had become "the longest-serving head of any publicly traded tech company." Under him, the company has approved the development of films based on its video games and had developed new esports projects.[21]”

To: “In June 2017, Fortune reported that Kotick had become "the longest-serving head of any publicly traded tech company." Under Kotick’s leadership, Activision Blizzard was named one of Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work from 2015 to 2018.

Reason: Removing information written in the incorrect tense, and added in information that was relevant to Bobby’s success with the company.

References:

25. Add the following information to the end of the Activision Blizzard section “In November 2022, under Kotick's leadership, the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II broke record sales for the franchise after crossing the $1 billion mark in ten days.”

Reason: Expanding on information related to Bobby’s success within the company.

Reference:

26. Change the following information in the Microsoft acquisition and retirement section from “In January 2022, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, which was cleared by regulatory agencies and completed in October 2023. According to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, the California DFEH lawsuit prompted Microsoft to seek the acquisition, something which they had approached the company before, and while Kotick had been hesitant about it, the company's board agreed to the acquisition, which would provide Kotick a graceful means to exit the company.[34][35][36]”

To: In January 2022, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, making it the largest video game acquisition. The acquisition was completed in 2023.

Reason: Removing unnecessary verbiage and providing additional source.

References:

27. Change the following information in the Microsoft acquisition and retirement section from “Following the completion of the acquisition in October 2023, he was to remain with Activision Blizzard in a transitional phase through the end of the year. He left the company on December 29, 2023.[37]”

To: “Following the completion of the acquisition, Kotick remained with Activision Blizzard to assist with the transition until he retired from the company on December 29, 2023.”

Reason: Rewrote for clarity and removed unnecessary verbiage.

References:

28. Change the following information in the Microsoft acquisition and retirement section from “In March 2024, WSJ reported that Kotick floated the idea to buy TikTok by partnering with businessmen that included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.[38]”

To: “In March 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Kotick floated the idea to buy TikTok by partnering others including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman while the United States Congress and the President approved the forced considered legislation requiring the divestment of TikTok from ByteDance.”

Reason: Expanded information to provide more context and clarity.

Reference:

Please let me know if there is anything I need to change or if there is any feedback you can give me, I'd really appreciate it.

29. Rename the subheading “Sexual harassment investigation” to “Litigation”

Reason: Suggesting renaming the section to read more neutrally as the section focuses on different lawsuits and not solely the sexual harassment investigation.

30. Change the following information from: “Cove eventually settled with the flight attendant. Kotick then became involved in litigation with the firm selected to defend him, Gordon, and Cove Management, in a dispute over legal fees. The court ruled in the firm’s favor and awarded it damages.”

To: “Cove denied the allegations and eventually settled the litigation. Kotick then became involved in litigation with the law firm in a dispute over legal fees. The court ruled in the firm's favor and awarded it damages.”

Reason: Remove unnecessary verbiage, and rewrite for neutrality.

References:

31. Change the following information from: “In July 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing announced it had filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard due to allegations of workplace misconduct and discrimination by several employees. Kotick was not named in the suit.”

To: “In July 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced it had filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard due to allegations of workplace misconduct and discrimination by several employees. Kotick was not named in the suit.”

Reason: Adding an acronym and wording so the information is written accurately and without bias.

Reference:

32. Remove the following information: “In October 2021, Kotick asked the Activision Blizzard board to cut his salary to the lowest amount allowed by California law, and to not to receive any bonuses or be granted any equity amid lawsuits against the company. At the time, Kotick stated the company's intention to invest in anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training, and other reforms.”

Reason: Information doesn’t seem notable enough for inclusion.

33. Change the following information from: “In November, an article from The Wall Street Journal asserted that Kotick had been aware of the past allegations, and had protected an employee who sexually harassed from being fired. The article also asserted that Kotick had threatened to kill an assistant on their voice mail, though Activision Blizzard characterized this as "obviously hyperbolic."

To: “In November 2021, an article from The Wall Street Journal asserted that Kotick had been aware of the past allegations, and had protected an employee who sexually harassed a co-worker from being fired. The article also asserted that Kotick had threatened to kill his assistant on their voicemail. Kotick apologized, and the dispute was settled out of court.”

Reason: Reword to correct some grammatical errors and have the sentence read without bias.

Reference:

34. Change the following information from: “The California lawsuit was eventually settled on in December 2023, with Activision paying $54 million including set-asides to deal with pay and promotion inequality within the company, but with an agreement that there was no substantial evidence to support sexual misconduct claims that were originally raised.”

To: “The California lawsuit was eventually settled in December 2023, and the DFEH, (now known as the CRD), withdrew all its allegations, and the case was settled. The settlement agreement stated that “no court or any independent investigation substantiated allegations” about “systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard,” and that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the company’s board, its executives, or Kotick. As part of the settlement, Activision Blizzard agreed to pay $54 million including set-asides to deal with pay and promotion inequality.”

Reason: Rewrite for neutrality and to provide more context.

Reference:

35. Create a new subheading above the “Microsoft acquisition and retirement” section titled “Media corrections and redactions” and add the following information:

“Following the settlement, numerous publications added editor’s notes and redacted statements about conduct by Activision, its board, and executives, including Forbes, The Indiependent, The Observer, and MobileSyrup.”

References:

“On March 22, 2024, Engadget, a technology news, reviews, and analysis website issued a correction stating, “This article has been updated to clarify the nature of Activision’s settlement with the CRD and to remove a reference to an unrelated allegation about former CEO Bobby Kotick. While the CRD lawsuit initially included allegations that Activision fostered sexual harassment, the CRD in January filed an amendment withdrawing these claims, and the publicly filed settlement agreement stated: “No court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that: there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard; … or that Activision Blizzard’s Board of Directors, including its Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kotick, acted improperly with regard to the handling of any instances of workplace misconduct.”

Reference:

Reason: Provide more information surrounding the aftermath of the litigations.

36. Remove the “Business strategy controversy” section from the article.

Reason: These quotes seem to be cherry-picked and not notable enough for inclusion in a Wikipedia article, nor do some of them seem appropriate for an online encyclopedia.

Thank you again for your help and feedback, and please feel free to let me know if there is any changes that need to be made! Defender63 (talk) 18:32, 18 September 2024 (UTC)

Defender63 (talk) 17:45, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

 Partly done: I've done a few of these. I'll come back for the rest later. Likeanechointheforest (talk) 17:56, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

Hi @Likeanechointheforest, Thank you for implementing my previous request, I appreciate it! I saw you rejected a few things and will look into seeing if I can provide you with more sources. I added a few more requests above starting at number 29 and was wondering if you could take a look at those as well. Thanks again! Defender63 (talk) 18:34, 18 September 2024 (UTC)

Next time please post a brand new COI request open to all editors. You can ping me but please don't ask me directly to do it at the exclusion of other editors. Will check this out now. Likeanechointheforest (talk) 18:49, 21 September 2024 (UTC)

Didn't do most of 32 - the source explicitly calls out in its title that he asked to have his salary cut. Same with 34 and 35 - a lot of extra fluff in these, kept the notable parts. I absolutely cannot/will not remove the entire business strategy controversy section. But I do think that the section is way overweighted for its impact/notability, and some of those sources are from opinion sites that feel like their era's equivalent of a tweet. So it's been changed a bit. Likeanechointheforest (talk) 19:41, 21 September 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for your help on this @Likeanechointheforest. Just pinging to let you know I added a few more suggestions to the request. Also wanted to just check and make sure you were planning to review on the rest. Let me know if anything else is needed. Appreciate the help. Defender63 (talk) 15:52, 30 August 2024 (UTC)

Done all, except for 21, 22, and 28. In 21, you gave no source there. Most sources I could find use the word "threaten." Do you have a source for "changes that he believed would benefit the gaming community" (italics my own for emphasis)? No source I could find says anything about that. In 22, the source given only mentions Activision, rather than game companies as a whole. Do you have a source to support "reward game companies"? Both of the requests in 21 and 22 are to reword information to contextually support "changes that he believed would benefit the gaming community," but the sources I can find do not support this claim. If you can provide those sources, I'd be happy to make your edits there. In 28, I removed the TikTok sentence in a previous edit because it does not strike me as notable enough for inclusion, despite the WSJ article—as there was no actual purchase. To establish notability there, I would like to see more journalistic coverage for why it was notable that he considered buying it. Likeanechointheforest (talk) 20:21, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

@Defender63 and Likeanechointheforest: Saw the changes being made and my first spotcheck turned up a negative. How does this source infer a birth date of March 1, 1963? I can't even see 1963 alone being verified anywhere, just one instance of age-at-date. IceWelder [✉] 20:38, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for catching that - honestly I just didn't check the birthday to the source as it seemed innocuous enough. Taking the specific date out. Anyway this all was a fair amount of change so I'd welcome your thoughts on it. Likeanechointheforest (talk) 20:51, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

References