Bobby Kotick targeted in new Activision Blizzard lawsuit from NYC

A new lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard, this time coming from New York City.

The basics: This is the latest in a string of suits filed against the Call of Duty and Overwatch publisher.

• The suit was filed in Delaware by New York City Employees’ Retirement System on April 26, as reported by Axios.
• The group owns stock in Activision Blizzard and affirms that the management of the video game giant has negatively affected its value.
• NYC has been attempting to obtain internal documents since late 2020, hoping to find out how much CEO Bobby Kotick knew of the workplace conduct allegations. It's now demanding access to documents, including those relating to the proposed Microsoft transaction and board memos.
• “Given Kotick’s personal responsibility and liability for Activision’s broken workplace, it should have been clear to the Board that he was unfit to negotiate a sale of the Company,” the suit reads. New York City believes the Microsoft acquisition allows Kotick and other AB directors to dodge accountability for the alleged misconduct within the company.

The state of play: There's a lot going on at Activision Blizzard.

• The games company is currently navigating an acquisition from Microsoft that would be valued at almost $69B.
• While dealing with the necessary hurdles that a company of its size faces with such transactions, Activision Blizzard is facing several lawsuits.
• It currently has one settled federal harassment suit, a discrimination suit from California, multiple shareholder suits, numerous suits regarding its potential acquisition by Microsoft, and an investigation from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).