Activision Backlash Not "Reality"-Based, Says Exec, We Beg To Differ

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Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is out there doing damage control on Activision’s not so much tattered as annihilated public image and while the video game industry’s collective memory may be short enough to buy some of this handwaving, you only need to look at one thing to realize what the truth is. When Infinity Ward imploded hordes of people jumped ship and followed Jason West and Vince Zampella into an unproven business venture rather than keep working at IW.

Not only that, but Activision withheld owed royalty pay to force people to stay and publicly stated people who left wouldn’t ever receive the money they were legally owed. “I have Google, just like everybody else, and I’m of course aware of what the reputation is amongst core gamers, and there’s a narrative that I think has taken over reality to a certain extent,” Hirshberg said. On the recent Activision studio closures he stated that “they are excruciating decisions, particularly when there are talented people involved and we’re in a talented people business. That’s all video games are, a reflection of the work of talented people.” We know that, developers know that, it’s mostly Activision execs who don’t seem to realize it until they’re in the middle of an interview.