a16z Podcast: Gaming Goes Mainstream

Bobby Kotick is the CEO of Activision Blizzard (a merger he engineered); it's one of only two video gaming companies in the Fortune 500, and, given its reach, the largest game network in the world. The company is responsible for some of the most iconic entertainment franchises, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft, as well as its own professional esports league. So this episode of the a16z Podcast features Marc Andreessen interviewing Kotick: on everything from the evolution of video games in the 1980s to gaming trends more broadly. What changes as gaming goes from "just for nerds" to "just for kids" into broader entertainment and cultural phenomena (esports, Fortnite, Pokemon Go, etc.)... both online and offline? The conversation originally took place at our most recent annual innovation a16z Summit -- which features a16z speakers and invited experts from various organizations discussing innovation at companies small and large. You can see other podcasts and videos from this event here.