Former Activision Boss Glad The Company Was Sold to Microsoft as Xbox and CoD Sales Falter

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Call of Duty Sales Are Now Down By 60% YoY!

Story Highlight
  • Former Activision boss is being sued by investors for selling Activision too quickly and at an undervalued share.
  • Responding, Bobby says he’s glad to have sold the company to Microsoft, noting that Xbox and Call of Duty sales are at an all-time low.
  • He also adds that Call of Duty sales are down 60% YoY, but provides no evidence to back this claim.

The case of Xbox succeeding in the publisher route has been an uncertain one because at one hand, IPs like Forza Horizon are selling like hot cakes on the PS5 but at the other hand, Call of Duty, the franchise the gaming giant took a hefty gamble on has yet to be paid off because the once hailed FPS series is now experiencing its worst ever phase.

Now, the former Activision boss has shared his thoughts on Microsoft’s current gaming division. He is glad that he sold the company, seeing Xbox and Call of Duty sales slump to an all-time low.

Why it matters: Activision is Microsoft’s biggest acquisition at $69 Billion, and despite showing promise initially, it has become questionable a few years later. 

xbox activision
The Activision And Microsoft Merger Took A Lot Of Effort To Pass Through

Investor company Sjunde AP-Fonden AP7 filed a lawsuit against Bobby Kotick in 2022, alleging that the company’s sale was expedited for personal gains, to which the former boss issued the following response via Game File:

Today, given that console sales are at an all-time low and Call of Duty sales are off over 60% from the prior year, Plaintiff should be expressing extreme gratitude for the foresight Activision leadership demonstrated in consummating this transaction.

2025 was a terrible year for both Xbox and Call of Duty, with the FPS series hitting an all-time low, also scoring a terrible 1.7/10 on Metacritic. A 60% drop in sales compared to Black Ops 6 wasn’t even an eye-opener for them, as Activision even went ahead to thank fans for the ‘positive response.’

For Xbox, the Series X|S consoles sold only around a million units, and Microsoft has given up on the hardware for this generation, as it’s fully locked in to developing the next-gen console-like Xbox PC.

Beavis And Butthead in Call of Duty
CoD Has Become A Shell Of It’s Former Self

As for Bobby’s situation, investors previously alleged that the quick sale was to secure a $400 million payout and to protect himself from internal allegations that were turning into lawsuits.

Still, his claims are pretty solid aside from the Call of Duty sales drop percentage, as the former boss has yet to back them up.

What are your thoughts on Kotick’s statements? Do you think Activision’s sale to Microsoft was the right outcome? Let us know in the comments below, or at the official Tech4Gamers Forums.

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