EA takes away studios' souls, says Bobby Kotick

Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick has struck out against EA's handling of acquired studios, during an interview about the company's recent merger with Vivendi.

Kotick who presided over the merger, talked to Condé Nast Portfolio about how Activision's approach to studios it buys differs from its competitors.

"It's about really being considerate of the culture in the game studios that Activision buys. That's the biggest difference between us and any of our competitors," he explained.

"We built a model that celebrates entrepreneurial, opportunistic, independent values. It's almost the opposite of Electronic Arts, which has commoditised development."

"It did a very good job of taking the soul out of a lot of the studios it acquired," Kotick added.