Following a tough end to 2018 both publicly and financially, Activision Blizzard has been taking multiple, major steps to recoup itself for the new year. Whether it be looking to release new games more frequently, pushing more franchises towards mobile platforms, or further incentivizing microtransactions into its most popular games, one of the industry's largest companies is searching for answers. Now, with the new year having arrived, the American video game holding company may be turning to a new CFO to help steer the ship in the right direction.

According to Game Informer, and further updated by Reuters, Activision Blizzard CFO Spencer Neumann is expected to leave the company to begin working with Netflix in early 2019. According to Activision's regulatory filing, Neumann was expected to be terminated "for causes unrelated to the company's financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures." Currently, Neumann is on paid leave, and has been given the opportunity to present the company with reasoning as to why he should remain employed, if he so chooses.

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The stumbles for Activision Blizzard have been coming in waves the past couple of months. After offering?Destiny 2 for free through PlayStation Plus in September, Activision revealed?it would push for more microtransactions in the online first-person shooter, despite it growing financially year-to-year.

In November, the exclusion of a?Diablo 4?announcement, coupled with the reveal of?Diablo Immortal on mobile, led to negative public outcry during BlizzCon and a significant drop in Activision's stock prices. For other popular online titles such as?Overwatch?and?Diablo 3, active users have seen a large drop in the past quarter, resulting in less revenue opportunities for the company.

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Activision Blizzard's pursuit for greater profits have also had effects internally, as its European customer service offices based out of Cork, Ireland, have been offering incentives to employees who voluntarily quit their jobs, which led to heavy under-staffing during the holidays. In regards to the possible position opening, Activision Blizzard CCO Dennis Durkin, who acted as CFO for the company as recently as May 2017, intends to replace Neumann should he resign.

For Neumann, his experience working as a CFO stretches beyond the games industry, having previously worked in the Disney Parks and Resorts division under the same title. With Netflix pushing for more original content on the platform the past couple of years, having the?Activision Blizzard?CFO in charge could lead the streaming service to new heights in the near future.

Source: Activision,?Game Informer, Reuters