Activision Blizzard Inc. said its long-serving chief executive, Bobby Kotick, will step down following the recent closure of its merger with Microsoft Inc.

Kotick has been at Activision Blizzard’s helm since its very beginning in 2008. He previously served as chief executive of video game publisher Activision Inc. from 1991 to 2008.

During that time, Activision was brought back from near bankruptcy and acquired a series of development studios. Kotick then played a crucial role in the organization and execution of a merger with the gaming division of French entertainment company Vivendi SE, including its subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment Inc. The merger closed in 2008, creating Activision Blizzard Inc., with Kotick in charge.

Since then, the Santa Monica-based company has become one of the largest and most profitable video game companies in the world, boasting iconic franchises including “Call of Duty” and “Overwatch.” The company was acquired by Microsoft this month after more than a year and a half of pushback from regulators including the Federal Trade Commission and the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority. The deal, worth a reported $68.7 billion, closed on Oct. 13.

“Combining with Microsoft will bring new resources and new opportunities to our extraordinary teams worldwide,” Kotick said in a note to employees. “It will also enable us to deliver more fun, more joy and more connection to more players than ever before.”

Kotick is the co-chairman of the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit that he co-founded with Brian Kelly, the chairman of Activision Blizzard. The endowment funds organizations that help veterans find “high-quality careers” after leaving military service and promotes awareness of the value veterans bring to the workplace. 

In the fall of 2021, about 1,000 Activision Blizzard employees signed a petition asking for Kotick to be removed from the company. The company previously settled cases with the Securities and Exchanges Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which alleged, respectively, that Activision failed to maintain disclosure controls and procedures and that it “subject(ed) employees to sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation.” As part of the EEOC settlement, Activision created an $18 million fund for eligible claimants who claimed they experienced such conditions during their employment at Activision. The company has also expanded both its Ethics and Compliance team and its Ethics Ambassador Program.

“Brian and I couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter for Activision Blizzard,” Kotick said. “We now join one of the most successful global companies, poised for unprecedented opportunities to connect the world through our games. As a part of Microsoft, we will be even better, together.”

According to a 2022 proxy filing, Kotick is entitled to a $14.4 million payment if he departs Activision Blizzard due to a change of company control, a clause that was in his contract before the Microsoft deal began.