Bobby Kotick's Lost Battle for Jurassic Park Rights: How Konami Won the Game

Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard, shared an little-known story on the Grit podcast about his failed attempt to secure the video game rights for Jurassic Park. Although his proposal was directly presented to Steven Spielberg, the Japanese company Konami ultimately acquired the rights with an offer that Kotick could not match.

How it all started: the connection with Spielberg

It all began when a lawyer close to Spielberg, who was part of the Activision board, told Kotick that the legendary film director was an enthusiast of video games. The lawyer informed him that Spielberg was looking to develop a project in this medium and would contact him first when the opportunity arose.

Kotick, seeing the narrative potential of Jurassic Park as an interactive experience, decided to act quickly. He consulted with Michael Crichton, the author of the original manuscript and a personal friend, who suggested negotiating directly with Spielberg, who held the franchise rights.

A memorable proposal in the form of a dinosaur egg

The founder of Activision spared no creativity to attract attention. He prepared a detailed manuscript of the game he envisioned and presented it theatrically: placed the document inside a dinosaur egg and packaged it specially for Spielberg, accompanied by calls from influential friends endorsing Kotick’s vision.

When Kotick spoke directly with Spielberg, the Jurassic Park director recognized that it was a solid proposal and expressed interest in Activision developing the project. However, negotiations became complicated when Spielberg sought to maximize the financial terms of the license.

Konami moves ahead: the unexpected ending

The disappointment came when Konami presented a higher financial guarantee that Spielberg could not refuse. Despite the effort and creativity Kotick had invested, the company lost the opportunity to develop what would have been a significant title.

The legacy of cinematic projects: the lesson of World of Warcraft

Years later, Kotick reflected on difficult corporate decisions. In his later comments, he recalled the 2016 World of Warcraft movie, which he described as one of the worst productions he had seen. He explained that although Blizzard tried to make the project successful, the film consumed critical resources and distracted the development team.

The contract for the movie was already committed before the Activision and Blizzard merger in 2008, which forced the company to fulfill its obligations. The impact was notable: teams spent time on casting and production, delaying World of Warcraft expansions and leaving important patches unupdated. Even Blizzard’s key developer Chris Metzen was exhausted by the project.

Although a Warcraft trilogy was planned, the plans were discarded after the film failed to perform as expected at the US box office. Kotick left Activision Blizzard in 2023, after Microsoft’s acquisition for $68.7 billion, ending thirty-two years at the helm of the company.