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Activision Blizzard vacates Santa Monica HQ, seeks new space
Company’s 10-year lease at business park recently expired
It’s game over for Activision Blizzard at a Boston Properties-owned office in Santa Monica.
The video game giant is leaving its 214,864-square-foot headquarters and hunting for new digs.
The company rented two buildings at Santa Monica Business Park and chose to leave as its 10-year lease expired, according to the Commercial Observer. The firm is looking for new space.
“We have narrowed down the search to a few properties in the Santa Monica area and we hope to finalize our plans soon,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told the publication.
Boston Properties bought the Santa Monica Business Park in 2018 for $616 million. Activision Blizzard’s newly vacant space at Santa Monica Business Park is about 145,000 square feet in one building and 70,000 in another.
The firm recently laid off 190 employees, or about 2 percent of its total workforce, and could be looking to downsize its headquarters to cut real estate costs.
The layoff caused some controversy in the industry, particularly because of the timing. Shortly after the layoffs were announced, word surfaced of a potential $200 million bonus for CEO Bobby Kotick this June. The looming windfall stems from a 2016 contract.
Blizzard Activision has other office and production properties in the area. Activision Publishing leases space at Campus @ Warner Center, which sold last February to U.K.–based investment firm Global Mutual. In 2017, subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment signed a 54,000-square-foot lease at Worthe Real Estate Group’s Burbank Studios property.
[Commercial Observer] — Dennis Lynch