Kotick Labels EA’s Riccitiello as “Worst CEO” in Gaming Industry

It seems John Riccitiello carried the unenviable reputation of being the “worst CEO” in the gaming industry. This label wasn’t given lightly; it came from none other than Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, who has also had his share of controversy in the business. During an appearance on the Grit show, alongside Bing Gordon, former chief creative officer of EA, Kotick shared his candid thoughts.

“I’m not just saying this because Bing is sitting here,” Kotick clarified, as reported by GameSpot. He added that they would have gladly paid to keep Riccitiello in his CEO role indefinitely, believing him to be the least effective leader in the gaming sector.

Despite this fierce rivalry between EA and Activision Blizzard, the two companies engaged in numerous discussions over potential mergers. “EA tried to acquire us several times. We had several merger talks,” Kotick reminisced. Interestingly, he acknowledged that EA’s business operations surpassed theirs in several respects.

Riccitiello’s journey at EA began in 1997 when he joined as the president and COO. He left for a period but returned in 2007 to serve as CEO, a role he held until 2013 when EA’s financial struggles led to his departure. A year later, he took the helm of Unity as chief executive, only to leave amidst controversy in 2023. Before exiting Unity, he stirred the pot once more by calling some developers “the biggest fucking idiots” in an interview with our friends at PocketGamer.biz. Quite the character, isn’t he?