Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg to Depart in March

Next March, Eric Hirshberg, the CEO of Activision, will be leaving the company after serving his current role for eight years.

Joining in 2010, he was an outsider who was largely unfamiliar with the gaming industry, but it was pretty obvious he was quick to make it his own. He was at the helm during the highest high and the lowest low of the Call of Duty franchise, he was instrumental to the Launch of Destiny and Destiny 2, and he hit upon an untapped gold mine with the release of Skylanders.

“Serving as Activision’s CEO has been an honor and a thrill. This is an amazing company. One which routinely delivers epic experiences for our fans on a scale that no one else can. I have nothing but admiration for the incredible team I have had the privilege to lead. And I have nothing but appreciation for Bobby for giving me this transformational opportunity, and also for having the vision and conviction to champion a creative person for a leadership role on this scale.”

What people often credit to his success was he was an advertising executive before becoming the CEO of Activision, meaning he looked at issues differently than a game developer. This lead to perhaps one of his most famous quotes, where he said games were not individual products, but brands, which is quite telling for their most recent approaches.

No word on what he’ll do once he leaves, but it’s safe to assume he’ll take a leadership position at some other company. That’s kind of what CEOs do.

I’m not sure it would be right to say he’ll be missed, but it’s undeniable that he had an impact on the way Activision was run, and some of their more recent decisions. Love him or hate him, things will be different once he’s out of the picture.