Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's pay has been halved

(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick will remain at the publisher for at least the next two years—but that role is about to come with some serious paycuts.

According to Kotick's latest employment extension agreement with the SEC (spotted by Wowhead), the Activision boss has agreed to reduce his base salary by 50 percent, with his generous bonuses similarly halved. The agreement claims that these changes were made to bring Kotick's pay in line with company targets, stating that the new structure better "reflects shareholder feedback, incorporates market best practices, and continues to directly connect pay to performance".

Indeed, Kotick's pay has become particularly contentious in recent years. Last month, an investment group slammed a pay package that would've seen the CEO receive almost $200 million in bonuses. A year earlier, that same group suggested a typical Activision employee would only make one third of a percent of what Kotick earned.

These earnings came across as particularly inequitable following Activision Blizzard's mass firings. After reporting a record year, the publisher laid off roughly 8 percent of its workforce, making around 500 employees redundant. More recently, Activision laid off around 50 esports personnel as it moves away from live events.

With these changes, Kotick's salary has gone from $1,750,000 to $875,000. But even with this cut, the CEO is still eligible for hefty bonuses up to 200 percent of his base salary (another $1.75 million on top). Kotick might've taken a pay cut, but he's very, very well off.

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.