<p>Bobby Kotick built a $69 billion empire from scratch—and the story is even crazier than it sounds.</p><p>In this episode of <em>The Big Shot</em>, we sit down with gaming’s ultimate entrepreneur. Bobby takes us from hustling snacks at baseball games to building one of the most iconic tech companies in the world: Activision Blizzard. Hear how he cold-called Nintendo, got investment from Steve Wynn on a private jet, took over a bankrupt video game company, and turned it into an empire that Microsoft bought for $69 billion.</p><p>In this episode, you’ll hear about:</p><ul><li>Bobby’s early hustles: selling ashtrays, snacks, and party access in NYC</li></ul><ul><li>Dropping out of college after Steve Jobs told him to</li></ul><ul><li>Starting a dorm room company with Howard Marks</li></ul><ul><li>Convincing Steve Wynn to invest $300K after a chance meeting</li></ul><ul><li>Reviving Activision from bankruptcy using old IP and grit</li></ul><ul><li>Why Pitfall and River Raid were billion-dollar blueprints</li></ul><ul><li>How Activision became the first American Nintendo licensee</li></ul><ul><li>The Apple boardroom showdown with John Sculley</li></ul><ul><li>Turning Activision into a media empire: Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Guitar Hero</li></ul><ul><li>What it felt like selling the company to Microsoft for $69 billion</li></ul><ul><li>His philosophy on leadership, loyalty, and building an enduring business</li></ul><p>—</p><p>In This Episode We Cover:</p><p>(00:00) Intro</p><p>(03:19) Selling ashtrays at playdates: Bobby’s first hustles</p><p>(06:39) Shadowing NYC real estate legends like Larry Silverstein</p><p>(09:59) Dorm room hardware startup with Howard Marks</p><p>(13:18) Inventing a typewriter-printer hack and launching via <em>Byte</em> magazine</p><p>(16:38) Meeting Steve Jobs</p><p>(19:58) Why Steve Jobs tells Bobby to drop out of school</p><p>(23:17) Getting featured in <em>Forbes</em> and making his parents panic</p><p>(26:37) The wild story of meeting Steve Wynn at a Texas cowboy gala</p><p>(29:57) The legendary $300K check in the basement of a casino</p><p>(33:16) Trying to sell to Apple (and the cigar moment with Sculley)</p><p>(36:36) Licensing games for EA and learning to be scrappy</p><p>(39:56) Black Monday, the Amiga, and a failed bid for Commodore</p><p>(43:15) Buying 20% of Nintendo’s U.S. licensing agent</p><p>(46:35) Discovering Activision buried inside a bankrupt company</p><p>(49:55) Why Bobby wanted to bring Pitfall and River Raid back to life</p><p>(53:14) The $400K move that changed gaming history</p><p>(56:34) A childhood connection saves the Activision bankruptcy deal</p><p>(59:54) Turning a bankrupt company into a profitable one in months</p><p>(01:03:13) Raising $40M and going on an acquisition spree</p><p>(01:06:33) How Bobby became the longest-serving tech CEO</p><p>(01:09:53) The Toy Story game meeting that cemented Bobby’s role</p><p>(01:13:12) Why Bobby never wanted to run a business that lost money</p><p>(01:15:32) Reflecting on the Microsoft acquisition and legacy</p><p>—</p><p>Where To Find Bobby Kotick:</p><p>• X: <a href="https://x.com/bobbykotick" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/bobbykotick</a> </p><p>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbykotick/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbykotick/</a> </p><p>—</p><p>Where To Find Big Shot: </p><p>• Website: <a href="https://bigshot.show/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a><a href="https://www.bigshot.show/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bigshot.show/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>• YouTube: ⁠<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bigshotpodcast" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@bigshotpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>⁠  </p><p>• TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bigshotshow" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@bigshotshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>• Instagram: ⁠<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bigshotshow" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bigshotshow/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>⁠  </p><p>• Harley Finkelstein: <a href="https://twitter.com/harleyf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/harleyf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> </p><p>• David Segal: <a href="https://twitter.com/tea_maverick" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/tea_maverick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>• Production and Marketing: <a href="https://penname.co/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://penname.co⁠</a></p>

Big Shot

Big Shot

The King of Gaming: How Bobby Kotick Built and Sold Activision Blizzard for $69B

APR 10, 202583 MIN
Big Shot

The King of Gaming: How Bobby Kotick Built and Sold Activision Blizzard for $69B

APR 10, 202583 MIN

Description

<p>Bobby Kotick built a $69 billion empire from scratch—and the story is even crazier than it sounds.</p><p>In this episode of <em>The Big Shot</em>, we sit down with gaming’s ultimate entrepreneur. Bobby takes us from hustling snacks at baseball games to building one of the most iconic tech companies in the world: Activision Blizzard. Hear how he cold-called Nintendo, got investment from Steve Wynn on a private jet, took over a bankrupt video game company, and turned it into an empire that Microsoft bought for $69 billion.</p><p>In this episode, you’ll hear about:</p><ul><li>Bobby’s early hustles: selling ashtrays, snacks, and party access in NYC</li></ul><ul><li>Dropping out of college after Steve Jobs told him to</li></ul><ul><li>Starting a dorm room company with Howard Marks</li></ul><ul><li>Convincing Steve Wynn to invest $300K after a chance meeting</li></ul><ul><li>Reviving Activision from bankruptcy using old IP and grit</li></ul><ul><li>Why Pitfall and River Raid were billion-dollar blueprints</li></ul><ul><li>How Activision became the first American Nintendo licensee</li></ul><ul><li>The Apple boardroom showdown with John Sculley</li></ul><ul><li>Turning Activision into a media empire: Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Guitar Hero</li></ul><ul><li>What it felt like selling the company to Microsoft for $69 billion</li></ul><ul><li>His philosophy on leadership, loyalty, and building an enduring business</li></ul><p>—</p><p>In This Episode We Cover:</p><p>(00:00) Intro</p><p>(03:19) Selling ashtrays at playdates: Bobby’s first hustles</p><p>(06:39) Shadowing NYC real estate legends like Larry Silverstein</p><p>(09:59) Dorm room hardware startup with Howard Marks</p><p>(13:18) Inventing a typewriter-printer hack and launching via <em>Byte</em> magazine</p><p>(16:38) Meeting Steve Jobs</p><p>(19:58) Why Steve Jobs tells Bobby to drop out of school</p><p>(23:17) Getting featured in <em>Forbes</em> and making his parents panic</p><p>(26:37) The wild story of meeting Steve Wynn at a Texas cowboy gala</p><p>(29:57) The legendary $300K check in the basement of a casino</p><p>(33:16) Trying to sell to Apple (and the cigar moment with Sculley)</p><p>(36:36) Licensing games for EA and learning to be scrappy</p><p>(39:56) Black Monday, the Amiga, and a failed bid for Commodore</p><p>(43:15) Buying 20% of Nintendo’s U.S. licensing agent</p><p>(46:35) Discovering Activision buried inside a bankrupt company</p><p>(49:55) Why Bobby wanted to bring Pitfall and River Raid back to life</p><p>(53:14) The $400K move that changed gaming history</p><p>(56:34) A childhood connection saves the Activision bankruptcy deal</p><p>(59:54) Turning a bankrupt company into a profitable one in months</p><p>(01:03:13) Raising $40M and going on an acquisition spree</p><p>(01:06:33) How Bobby became the longest-serving tech CEO</p><p>(01:09:53) The Toy Story game meeting that cemented Bobby’s role</p><p>(01:13:12) Why Bobby never wanted to run a business that lost money</p><p>(01:15:32) Reflecting on the Microsoft acquisition and legacy</p><p>—</p><p>Where To Find Bobby Kotick:</p><p>• X: <a href="https://x.com/bobbykotick" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/bobbykotick</a> </p><p>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbykotick/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbykotick/</a> </p><p>—</p><p>Where To Find Big Shot: </p><p>• Website: <a href="https://bigshot.show/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a><a href="https://www.bigshot.show/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bigshot.show/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>• YouTube: ⁠<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bigshotpodcast" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@bigshotpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>⁠  </p><p>• TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bigshotshow" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@bigshotshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>• Instagram: ⁠<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bigshotshow" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bigshotshow/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>⁠  </p><p>• Harley Finkelstein: <a href="https://twitter.com/harleyf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/harleyf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> </p><p>• David Segal: <a href="https://twitter.com/tea_maverick" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/tea_maverick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>• Production and Marketing: <a href="https://penname.co/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://penname.co⁠</a></p>