Blizzard, the gaming giant behind franchises like World of Warcraft and Diablo, has eliminated one of its lucrative employee bonus programs, and it's unclear why. Activision Blizzard's 2018 Proxy Statement reveals that the company has eliminated a program called the Blizzard Holiday Plan.
The end-of-year bonus program appears to have been lucrative, at least for Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime, who just announced he's leaving the company. According to the proxy statement, Morhaime was eligible for a bonus of 37 percent of his base salary, which worked out to $369,219.
Now that the plan is eliminated, Morhaime won't see this bonus in 2018. And as a result of the program's elimination, the salary that Morhaime and other Blizzard Holiday Plan participants received were adjusted to "reflect the inclusion of an amount equal to the payment" received for 2017. For Morhaime, that figure was $369,219, but it's unclear what other employees earned.
The Blizzard Holiday Plan was in place before the Activision Blizzard merger. While the Blizzard Holiday Plan is no more, the company still has a program called the "Blizzard Profit Sharing Plan" that rewards employees with bonuses based on how profitable its games are.
Additionally, there appears to be a profit-sharing plan specific to Morhaime himself, as the Activision Blizzard proxy statement mentions something called the "Morhaime Profit Sharing Plan." This bonus appears to be based on Blizzard's overall profits; and as such, it is likely a substantial figure.
We have contacted Blizzard in an attempt to get more specifics about the Blizzard Holiday Plan, as well as information as to why it was terminated.
Including his salary and bonuses, Morhaime was paid $12.3 million in 2017. Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick's total pay for last year $28.7 million, while CFO Spencer Neumann took home $9.5 million. Chief Corporate Officer Dennis Durkin made $5.8 million, while Activision Publishing boss Collister Johnson earned $11.2 million, with King CEO Riccardo Zacconi taking home $14.8 million.
Profit-sharing programs are commonplace in the video game industry, and they are one of the methods that developers use to attract and retain talent. Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games has a scheme called "internal royalties" that pay employees bonuses based on the performance of their games; Electronic Arts has a bonus system as well.
The topic of employee benefits is especially front of mind currently as Telltale Games recently closed down and paid its employees no severance.
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