Among the lawsuits Microsoft was facing over its acquisition of Activision Blizzard back in 2022 was one filed by Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden, alleging that the at-the-time Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was trying to rush the deal to dodge consequences of sexual misconduct allegations.
According to GameFile, Kotick has recently filed a response, with his lawyers denying this allegation. Rather, Kotick and his lawyers are now alleging that Sjunde AP-Fonden filed its lawsuit “to exert collateral harm on Activision” and help Embracer Group.
“This Delaware lawsuit was apparently aimed to help pave the way for Embracer to increase its foothold in the California market at the expense of Activision, making it more difficult for Activision to recruit talent and expand through [mergers and acquisitions] activity of the sort that Activision relied on to grow historically,” said Kotick’s legal team.
This newest allegation originates from the fact that Sjunde AP-Fonden’s view chairman Emma Ihre also served in an executive role at Embracer Group at the time. The lawsuit itself was a bid to help “Embracer’s desire to boost sales of its games while leaving Activision hamstrung in the development of its own games that competed against Embracer’s titles.”
Responding to this through its own statement, Embracer Group has denied Kotick’s latest allegations. A representative for the company said that it was “humbled by Mr Kotick’s remark” about its competing with Activision. “Nevertheless, perhaps difficult to accept for Mr Kotick, but we did not and do not need any help from a Swedish pension fund in competing with Activision,” continued the company representative.
“Thus, in short, there was no coordination or collaboration between Embracer and [Sjunde AP-Fonden] relating to any of Mr Kotick’s statements. No agenda or instructions were directed from Embracer via Emma Ihre or directly to [Sjunde AP-Fonden].”
While Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was called into question by several regulatory bodies from all around the world, including the US Federal Trade Commission, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, and the European Commission, the lawsuit by Sjunde AP-Fonden revolved around allegations of Activision Blizzard suffering from systemic issues with harassment and sexual misconduct. One report claimed that Kotick himself was involved in several instances of harassment and misconduct, with it stating that the CEO was not only aware of it happening, but also went as far as to protect abusers and withhold knowledge about these instances from the company’s board.
While Kotick would stay on in his executive position for quite some time following these reports, he eventually announced his departure from the company following the completion of its acquisition by Microsoft. Amidst this, 2022 also saw Activision settle its sexual harassment lawsuit, with the settlement amount said to be valued around $18 million.
The company would also sign an agreement with California’s Civil Rights Department as part of the latter’s 2021 lawsuit that would result in it paying $54 million for allegations of systemic sexual harassment and racial discrimination, as well as unequal pay for women.
