According to internal memos obtained by LA Times reporter Ben Fritz (and later confirmed by an Activision spokesperson), Activision Blizzard has quietly gone about reorganising its internal structure to effectively divide itself up into four discrete segments, each focussing on its own brand and market.

A single division will focus on Call of Duty (as noted in the recent Infinity Ward scuffle), another will handle owned properties such as Guitar Hero, DJ Hero and Tony Hawk, yet another will centre around licensed properties (such as games based on movies, cartoons and comic books), while the fourth division will be the independently run developer, Blizzard Entertainment.

Staff promotions and movements have also come into effect, as Mike Griffith has now been named vice chairman of Activision Blizzard, while Thomas Tippl (formerly CFO and CCO) has been named as the COO (a newly created position), and will oversee Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, while reporting directly to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

In a memo to employees at Activision Blizzard, Kotick wrote:

“This is an important change as it will allow me, with Thomas [Tippl], to become more deeply involved in areas of the business where I believe we can capture great potential and opportunity.”

The licensed games unit will be headed up by Dave Oxford (currently head of the publisher’s offices in Minneapolis), while the owned properties division will be run by Maria Stripp, while being given the responsibility of growing new and upcoming brands.

These restructuring efforts were confirmed in a statement issued by Activision Blizzard spokesperson Maryanne Lataif, while additionally revealing that around 15 employees at the company were made redundant:

“We realigned our structure to better reflect our slate and marketing opportunities and direct our resources against the largest most profitable business segments.”

Source: Ben Fritz at the LA Times Blog