--- title: Activision's Eric Hirshberg Talks Call of Duty, Skylanders and Destiny description: Since Hirshberg's arrival the company has grown by leaps and bounds, its stock price more than doubling since Hirshberg started. canonical: https://time.com/2889450/activision-eric-hirshberg/ author: Matt Peckham article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-17T19:08:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:02:33.019Z article:section: Business og:title: Activision's CEO Explains Why His Company Is Disruptive og:description: Since Hirshberg's arrival the company has grown by leaps and bounds, its stock price more than doubling since Hirshberg started. og:url: https://time.com/2889450/activision-eric-hirshberg/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf640c23c89db5313/698697f0adae44085c543bab/170825634.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Gwyneth Paltrow And Tracy Anderson At Licensing Expo 2013 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Activision's CEO Explains Why His Company Is Disruptive twitter:description: Since Hirshberg's arrival the company has grown by leaps and bounds, its stock price more than doubling since Hirshberg started. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf640c23c89db5313/698697f0adae44085c543bab/170825634.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Activision's Eric Hirshberg Explains Why His Company Is Disruptive by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) and [Corey Protin](/author/corey-protin/) Jun 17, 2014 7:08 PM CUT  LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 18: A general view of the Activision booth at Licensing Expo 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on June 18, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for The Licensing Expo) LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 18: A general view of the Activision booth at Licensing Expo 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on June 18, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for The Licensing Expo)David Becker—2013 Getty Images by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) and [Corey Protin](/author/corey-protin/) Jun 17, 2014 7:08 PM CUT 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](http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/119223/Activision%5FExec%5FGriffith%5FResigns.php "undefined"), 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](http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=ATVI&a=05&b=1&c=2010&d=05&e=17&f=2014&g=m "undefined"). 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](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/06/us-activision-destiny-idUSBREA4501F20140506?feedType=RSS&irpc=932 "undefined") 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2889450/activision-eric-hirshberg/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2889450/activision-eric-hirshberg/"},"headline":"Activision's Eric Hirshberg Explains Why His Company Is Disruptive","datePublished":"2014-06-17T19:08:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:33.019Z","description":"CEO Eric Hirshberg sat down with TIME at E3 to discuss how Activision has grown since he arrived four years ago and what's next on its gaming lineup","url":"https://time.com/2889450/activision-eric-hirshberg/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Interviews","call of duty","activision","destiny","e3","e3 2014"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf640c23c89db5313/698697f0adae44085c543bab/170825634.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Peckham","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Corey Protin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/corey-protin/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf640c23c89db5313/698697f0adae44085c543bab/170825634.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Gwyneth Paltrow And Tracy Anderson At Licensing Expo 2013","caption":"Gwyneth Paltrow And Tracy Anderson At Licensing Expo 2013","creditText":"David Becker—2013 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2889450/activision-eric-hirshberg/","name":"Activision's Eric Hirshberg Explains Why His Company Is Disruptive"}}]}] ```