Activision’s Eric Hirshberg Explains Why His Company Is Disruptive

Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg is at ease in the spotlight, four years after leaving ad company Deutsch LA to fill then-resigning Activision CEO Mike Griffith’s shoes. Hirshberg’s arrival at one of the largest publishers in the gaming industry came on the heels of sudden departures and legal brouhaha between Activision and esteemed members of its rainmaking Infinity Ward Call of Duty development studio. Many at the time worried Call of Duty, absent two of its studio founders and dozens of others, was in deep franchise-threatening trouble.

But since then, Activision—founded in 1979 by a bunch of ex-Atari programmers and responsible for some of the industry’s most recognized games—has grown by leaps and bounds, its stock price more than doubling since Hirshberg started. The Call of Duty series alone has become one of the top 10 game franchises with more than 120 million units sold worldwide, and the Skylanders toy-game series surpassed the $2 billion sales mark earlier this year, moving 175 million tiny plastic figurines (and seven games: three for iOS/Android, one for web and three going on a fourth this October for consoles) since launching just over two years ago.

At the end of the summer, Activision will ship one of 2014’s most anticipated games, Destiny, from the makers of Halo. Bungie’s sci-fi multiplayer-angled opus will ship for last- as well as current-generation consoles on Sept. 9. In early May, Reuters reported that the development and marketing expenditures for Destiny alone would top $500 million—another Hollywood-stomping record. If Hirshberg has his way, the returns (he’s anticipating revenue in the billions) will dwarf that investment.

Suggest that the company’s stifling its competition or leaning too heavily on safe moneymaking bets, and Hirshberg will claim otherwise. He may have a point: Of the company’s top three tentpole games at E3 2014—Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Skylanders: Trap Team and Destiny—one of those franchises didn’t exist three years ago and the other has yet to appear on stage.

For more on Activision’s lineup, take a look at the video above.