Independent games journalist Stephen Totilo says Bobby Kotick’s lawyers sent him a legal threat demanding a correction to his reporting. The wording they wanted was already there.
In brief:
- Independent games journalist Totilo says a Lawyer representing Bobby Kotick demanded settlement language his article already included.
- The law firm subsequently apologised for the confusion.
- A separate investigation examines Kotick’s legal representatives’ approaches to journalists.
Bobby Kotick’s Lawyers Contacted Stephen Totilo
Totilo said the letter concerned his reporting on litigation over Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition.
According to Totilo, Clare Locke wanted language from Activision’s 2023 California settlement added. As such, that language addressed the lack of substantiated findings of systemic harassment or executives tolerating it.
Totilo pointed out that his article already carried the relevant passage. Around two hours later, a lawyer said the firm had “reviewed an incomplete version” and offered to “apologize for the confusion.”
Totilo says he made no change in response to the demand.
Wider Investigation Examines Legal Letters to Games Journalists
Journalist Mikhail Klimentov announced on September 24 that his investigation was live, saying he had spent nearly two years examining a pattern of legal letters sent to journalists by Kotick’s defamation counsel. The resulting People Make Games video examines the use of defamation threats to reshape coverage of the former Activision Blizzard CEO.
Reuters provides a publicly documented example of contact from Kotick’s counsel. Its October 2025 report on the shareholder litigation disclosed an October 7 letter disputing claims of widespread harassment at Activision. Reuters added the lawyers’ position and explicitly noted the update.
