Kotick Praises Bungie, Blasts Every Other Indie Dev In A Single Comment

Activision’s Bobby Kotick is always a dependable source of controversy, and his latest comments don’t disappoint. Speaking to the America Merrill Lunch Media Comms and Entertainment conference, the outspoken CEO praised Activision partner Bungie while (perhaps) inadvertently slamming every other independent developer on the planet.

"They're probably the last remaining high-quality independent developer,” Kotick told the group, according to CVG.com. “It's very hard to [pauses]... that has sort of has institutional skills and capabilities. And they're a real company.”

Kotick then explained that the only real option Bungie had after its amicable split with Microsoft was with Activision. "Blizzard had 2,500 people in customer service and support just for World of Warcraft. How you train them, how you manage them, how you organise them... how you use CRM tools in delighting and satisfying the expectations of your audiences... it's something no other company [Bungie] talked to [could offer]."

That’s nice that Bungie and Activision are getting on so well, and it’s probably going to be lucrative for both companies. There is that little bit about Bungie being the “last remaining high-quality independent developer,” however. Surely, Kotick must have forgotten about companies like Valve, Epic, Insomniac, and dozens of other indies out there, right? Right?

Oh boy.