Bobby Kotick takes home a gigantic bonus

Activision chief executive sees 2013 cash compensation raised for "transformational" year

Last year was a "transformational" one for Activision as the publisher saw its sales and profits slip, but the board of directors wouldn't let the same fate befall CEO Bobby Kotick's bonus. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the publisher today said that the board's compensation committee authorized a $7.85 million cash bonus for CEO Bobby Kotick for his performance in 2013, up from $2.5 million in 2012.

Kotick's base salary for 2013 was also increased to $2.1 million, up from $2 million the year prior. But those only paint a portion of the executive's overall haul for the year. For 2012, Kotick received almost $55.92 million in stock awards as part of a compensation package that totaled $64.9 million. They went on the publisher's books for 2012, they were to be doled out over a five-year span.

At the time, GMI Ratings corporate-governance consultant Nell Minow questioned Kotick's compensation, criticizing Activision's compensation committee for a lack of transparency into how those figures were determined. Activision's filing today specified that Kotick could have been awarded more under the guidelines of the company's 2008 incentive plan.

That should guarantee some Kotick bashing on the net again - its been a while since his name cropped up!

I hope he enjoys it while it lasts though because at some point he is going to have to earn that amount if he wants to turn round COD's fortunes in the coming years......