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Head of Xbox Phil Spencer condemns Activision Blizzard

Phil Spencer says that Xbox is "evaluating all aspects of our relationship" with Activision Blizzard.

Donovan Erskine

November 18, 2021 1:15 PM

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Activision Blizzard employees were not alone in their disapproval of CEO Bobby Kotick’s behavior, as revealed in the recent Wall Street Journal report. Many figures from around the industry, including Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Jim Ryan, voiced their frustrations with the situation at one of biggest studios in gaming. Now, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has shared that he’s also pondering the past and future of his company's relationship with Activision Blizzard.

Xbox head Phil Spencer sent an email to employees earlier today, which was then obtained by Bloomberg. In the email, Spencer expressed his disapproval of Activision Blizzard, saying that he is “disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions” described in the WSJ report from earlier this week. Spencer goes on to outright condemn the behavior of Kotick, stating that it has no place in the video game industry.

Furthermore, Spencer spoke about Xbox’s relationship with Activision Blizzard. He says that the Xbox team is “evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments.” Xbox has worked closely with Activision Blizzard to bring several of its games to their platforms. The statement from Spencer seems to imply that we may soon see a change in that operation.

If affirmative action isn’t soon taken by the leadership at Activision Blizzard, we could see Microsoft make changes to how it works with the studio moving forward. The internal email from Phil Spencer is very similar to the one that PlayStation boss Jim Ryan sent to employees at his company this week. As more and more people speak out against Bobby Kotick, pressure continues to mount for the longtime CEO to resign from his position. Stay with us here on Shacknews as we continue to follow the situation at Activision Blizzard.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_