No, you’re not reading that wrong. Former late-night host and Cinderella star James Corden reportedly hosted a town hall meeting for Activision. The company, run by Bobby Kotick, is making headlines as Microsoft may close its $68.7 billion purchase of them on Friday.
According to sources speaking to Windows Central, an internal meeting between Kotick and employees recently occurred. James Corden, the ‘mastermind’ behind Carpool Karaoke, emceed the conference, much like Jamie Kennedy did at E3 2009: unnecessarily. Kotick, who has been CEO of Activision since 1991, responded to a bevy of questions.
He talks about the potential for AI and VR, as well as Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Weirdly, he also mentions that, with Microsoft’s advanced technology, a potential Guitar Hero revival was teased. A repeated phrase that popped up a lot during the meeting was “magic”, as Kotick believes Microsoft will keep it alive, just as Activision has for more than 40 years.
It seems like the company, likely to soon become part of Microsoft, wants to deliver fresh content to consumers. Having already absorbed studios Blizzard and King, Activision can finally work on creating a bigger legacy. However, it seems they want to experiment with new technologies more than to build upon what they have. Microsoft had said they wanted to compete with Apple and Google in mobile gaming, which led to them purchasing Activision. While some may dislike the company, Call of Duty, Candy Crush Saga, and World of Warcraft continue to make millions of dollars every year. Where the future might go is unclear. But please don’t let James Corden be in Call of Duty.
