After getting sued by the state of California, Activision is now in the sights of New York City and this time around, the reason is Bobby Kotick's potential escape plan.
If lawsuits were Pokemon, Activision would be one hell of a trainer. Besides the large number of lawsuits they collected over the years, the one by the state of California over the workplace culture was probably the biggest, as far as the highlights go.
Not long after, it was announced that Microsoft would be buying Activision Blizzard and it appears that the recent lawsuit by a set of funds in New York City was prompted by this move.
Bobby Kotick, one of the least welcome names when it comes to video gaming these days, is the target of this lawsuit as the plaintiffs allege Kotick would escape liability and accountability through the merger. One interesting detail of the lawsuit is that it alleges Kotick would also continue to serve as an executive after the merger, even though signs thus far pointed this wouldn't be the case. Keep in mind that there is no official statement about Kotick's future in Microsoft for the time being and nothing is set in stone yet.
It is also alleged in the filing that Kotick rushed into the deal in order to maximise his own gains, with the mention of a $22 million bonus for just enforcing rules that would prevent further discrimination at the company.
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This last part possibly hints at the NYC funds being dissatisfied as shareholders since Kotick rushed the board to accept the Microsoft deal while other parties were still in the running for acquisition.
