The Xbox Founder Was Involved In Multiple Legal Battles With Activision

The Xbox gaming console, a revolutionary invention in the world of gaming, has an interesting past marked by legal battles between its creator, Seamus Blackley, and video game publisher Activision. These conflicts have not only shaped the way the video game industry operates but also raised important questions about the protection of intellectual property.

We spotted that while talking to the XboxEra podcast, Seamus Blackley did not hold back about his past conflicts with Activision. He told the audience about his legal battles with the CEO of Activision, Bobby Kotick, who swore at him on several occasions.

I have gone into legal actions against Activision 3 or 4 times. While I was representing Harmonix, Bobby Kotick and Activision called me a fa***.

Seamus also explained that Bobby Kotick is the reason Respawn exists in the first place, and he is the reason why the Infinity Ward team left, and he helped Respawn stand up to Activision.

He [Bobby Kotick] is the reason Respawn exists and the Infinity Ward team left. The reason for that is he [Kotick] was refusing to pay them the royalties. They called, and so we helped them.

Respawn would later partner with Microsoft for Titanfall’s console exclusivity. The game was released to much anticipation worldwide, and many even considered it the Call of Duty killer.

The creator of Xbox then went ahead and talked about the involving Guitar Hero and Activision. Guitar Hero was initially owned by the publisher known as “Red Octane.” Seamus stated that Activision wanted that game, so they went ahead and bought the publisher, only to find out that Red Octane didn’t own Guitar Hero.

Harmonix owned Guitar Hero, so a complicated lawsuit between Activision and Harmonix went on for many years.

Activision bought the publisher of Guitar Hero, but discovered too late that Red Octane didn’t actually own the game.

While Activision has a reputation for these kinds of behaviors, it was interesting to learn about the experiences of the original creator of Xbox. At the moment, Microsoft is looking to acquire Activision Blizzard, with a merger costing $68.7 Billion. What do you make of this story unfolded by the creator of Xbox? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

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