Former Activision CEO Says Swedish Fund’s Lawsuit Against Microsoft Acqusition Was to Help Embracer

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In 2022, Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard faced numerous legal challenges, including a lawsuit from Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden. This lawsuit claimed that Activision Blizzard’s then-CEO, Bobby Kotick, was attempting to quickly finalize the deal to avoid accountability for allegations of sexual misconduct.

GameFile reports that Bobby Kotick has officially denied the claims made against him through his legal team. They state that the lawsuit filed by Sjunde AP-Fonden is actually an attempt to damage Activision and benefit Embracer Group.

So, from what I understand, this lawsuit in Delaware seemed to be about Embracer trying to get a stronger position in California, and it was specifically aimed at making things harder for Activision. Apparently, it was meant to limit Activision’s ability to hire people and buy other companies – which is how they’ve grown in the past, according to Activision’s lawyers.

The latest claim centers on Emma Ihre, who chaired Sjunde AP-Fonden while also holding a leadership position at Embracer Group. The lawsuit reportedly aimed to help Embracer increase its game sales by hindering the development of competing games from Activision.

Embracer Group has publicly refuted the recent claims made by Bobby Kotick. In a statement, a company representative acknowledged Kotick’s comment about competition with Activision, but firmly stated that Embracer did not require, nor did it receive, any assistance from a Swedish pension fund to compete with Activision.

Simply put, Embracer and AP7 did not coordinate or collaborate on anything related to statements made by Mr. Kotick. No one at Embracer – either through Emma Ihre or directly – gave any instructions to Sjunde AP-Fonden.

So, everyone was talking about Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard, and a bunch of regulators – like the FTC in the US, the CMA in the UK, and the European Commission – were looking into it. But there was also a lawsuit from Sjunde AP-Fonden, and it wasn’t about the business deal itself. They were claiming Activision Blizzard had really serious, ongoing problems with harassment and misconduct, and that was their concern.

According to one report, Bobby Kotick, the CEO, was directly involved in multiple cases of harassment and wrongdoing. The report alleges he not only knew about the misconduct but actively shielded those responsible and kept the board of directors in the dark.

Despite initial reports, Bobby Kotick remained with Activision in a leadership role for a while before announcing he would leave after Microsoft completed its purchase of the company. In 2022, Activision also resolved a lawsuit concerning sexual harassment, reportedly agreeing to a settlement of approximately $18 million.

The company will also settle a lawsuit brought by California’s Civil Rights Department from 2021 by paying $54 million. The lawsuit alleged widespread sexual harassment and racial discrimination, and that female employees were paid less than their male counterparts.

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2026-01-14 16:41