Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard is Proof a College Education is not Necessary
Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, the video game franchise that includes
Diablo, Candy Crush Saga, Farm Heroes Saga, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and the mega-popular Call of Duty Franchise is every parent’s worst nightmare.
Not because he is a successful computer programmer and head of one of the largest and most profitable video game franchises in the world, but due to the fact that he did it all without completing a college degree.
Oh, Mr. Kotick started college at the University of Michigan in the early 80s, but by the end of his freshman year, he started his first company, Arktronics, with his college roommate.
Bobby Kotick was a gifted programmer, and he continued to program applications for the Apple II computer.
By the time his sophomore year rolled around, he was able to convince Las Vegas Mogul Steve Wynn to invest in Arktronics.
With the money Arktronics became Activision, and when Steve Jobs took notice of Bobby Kotickcs’ abilities, Mr. Jobs, a dropout from Reed College in Portland, advised Bobby Kotick to drop out of college and concentrate on his video game software.
Bobby followed Steve’s advice, and years later, Mr. Kotick cashed in to the tune of over $150 million dollars.
Mr. Kotick’s path to becoming a multimillionaire became possible in 1990 when he and his partner, Brian Kelly, purchased a 25 percent stake in a failing computer software company called Mediagenic.
Bobby Kotick and his partner restructured the company and concentrated Mediagenic to become a video game company.
The results were spectacularly successful, and Mediagenic became Activision, which is currently the largest and probably the most profitable video game company in the world.
In 2008 Activision merged with a company called Vendi and became Activision Blizzard, and Bobby Koticks was named CEO.
Recently Microsoft announced its intention to buy the company, and the buyout will finish in 2023, which is expected to net Mr. Koticks an additional $395 million dollars from the sale of his stock.
Not bad for a college dropuout.