Modern Warfare 2's launch was nothing short of a monumental success at retail. As expected, the game performed amazingly well, shifting 4.7 million copies around the globe on its first day, and as a result, Activision's stock soared high. GameSpot is reporting that Activision Blizzard's CEO Bobby Kotick personally parted with nearly two million vested stock options, which netted the exec over $20 million.
Minus the nearly $2 million strike price, the executive cleared nearly $20.2 million in just three days. The figure comes atop his normal compensation package, which totaled $14.95 million in 2008, according to Forbes magazine. Following the sale, Kotick still retained 3,109,729 shares of Activision Blizzard, which ended trading today at $11.44--making said shares worth $35,575,300.
Not too shabby for roughly three days of work.

Kotick: Could probably afford a real guitar now.


Bryn says: I wonder what kind of compensation the guys and gals over at Infinity Ward are going to see from Modern Warfare 2 in the long run? After all, they're the ones that put the hard work in. Well, as much as I'd like to be all bitter and twisted about $20 million I'll never see, there's a part of me that admires what Kotick has achieved as a businessman. Guess the beers are on Bobby, right Activision?