Bobby Kotick To Receive Bonus If Activision Board "Sees Improvement In Company Culture"

Remember when Activision CEO Bobby Kotick graciously lowered his normally multi-million-dollar yearly compensation to a mere $62,500? If you were concerned about his ability to pay the bills during that year, don't fret -- he's due to make a $22 million bonus in stock if he can somehow prove that he's improved company culture by this summer. (Spoiler: He will find a way to "prove" it, even if it's not true.)

Axios has learned via an SEC filing that Kotick is due to receive that payout "if Activision’s board sees improvement in company culture," which would include "the implementation of a zero-tolerance harassment plan and an increase in hiring women and non-binary people." The filing also indicates that Kotick will receive a $15 million "golden parachute" if he's fired without cause, though it's unclear if that is in addition to, or a replacement for, the supposed $265 million he was previously reported to be eligible for in that circumstance.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.

Perhaps most disturbing is that the report also indicates Kotick might stay on as CEO for another 12 months following the termination of his contract in March 2023. Perhaps that's simply a catch-all for the unbelievable possibility that Kotick transforms the company into a worker's paradise and cleans up his personal act, but suffice it to say that if Microsoft doesn't move on from Kotick at its earliest opportunity, it's going to face a significant backlash.

Also noted in the filing was that four other companies, besides Microsoft, approached Activision Blizzard about the possibility of acquiring it, as did a single "unnamed individual," an offer that the board of directors "slow-walked in part because 'prior dealings' with that person raised concern about possible leaks." Let's see, who's a person who has a lot of money, tends to have things get leaked, and also likes Blizzard games ... ?