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Natalya Tatarchuk became Activision Publishing’s chief technology officer on January 8, 2024, replacing Michael Vance in the role. Activision said she would oversee technology goals across its game portfolio, including Call of Duty. Vance remained at Activision in another senior engineering position.
Activision’s current leadership page lists her as Natasha Tatarchuk, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. This article uses “Natalya” for consistency with the 2024 appointment coverage while noting the company’s current name styling.
What Activision announced
The appointment was an Activision Publishing leadership change—not the creation of a CTO role for Microsoft Gaming or for the entire Activision Blizzard King organization.
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Tatarchuk’s remit covers high-level technology goals across Activision’s portfolio, including Call of Duty. That describes a company-wide technology leadership responsibility within Activision Publishing; it does not mean she personally runs development of every game or franchise.
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GamesBeat reported the appointment as Activision’s first major leadership shake-up after Bobby Kotick’s departure. That wording is best understood as a description of the significance of the move, not proof that it was the first personnel change of any kind across the wider company.
Why the timing mattered
Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard on October 13, 2023. The all-cash transaction had been announced in January 2022 at a stated value of $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash. Kotick then left the CEO position on December 29, 2023.
Against that backdrop, Tatarchuk’s appointment was an early visible example of senior leadership evolving after the acquisition and Kotick’s exit. It should not, however, be treated as evidence that Microsoft immediately reorganized every Activision, Blizzard, and King business. Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer said there were no planned changes to the individual businesses’ structure at the time, even as broader leadership changes were expected.
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Microsoft said the Activision Blizzard business would report to Spencer, but the available announcement does not establish Tatarchuk’s individual reporting line. The appointment therefore shows a change within Activision Publishing, not necessarily a new group-wide technology hierarchy.
Tatarchuk’s technical background
Tatarchuk joined Activision after senior technical leadership work at Unity. Her Unity experience included graphics, the Unity Editor and Engine, and Wētā Tools. Earlier, she spent nearly eight years at Bungie, working in graphics and engineering leadership connected with Destiny and Halo. She also held an earlier role at AMD.
That background is relevant because it combines several technology disciplines that matter to a major game publisher:
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- Real-time graphics and rendering;
- Game-engine, editor, and tools development;
- Technical architecture;
- Console and mobile development experience; and
- Engineering leadership across large, complex game organizations.
Her public statement about the move described it as an honor and said she was excited to help a team pushing the boundaries of gaming. It expressed enthusiasm, but did not announce a specific product roadmap, engine overhaul, artificial-intelligence program, or live-service strategy.
What happened to Michael Vance?
Vance was replaced as Activision’s CTO, but he did not simply leave the company. Reporting from the Los Angeles Business Journal said he remained at Activision in a senior engineering role focused on leading more engineering work.
Vance had spent approximately 23 years at Activision and worked on technology efforts connected with the company’s games. The transition therefore brought in outside technical leadership while retaining significant institutional experience inside Activision’s engineering organization. There is no evidence in the cited reporting that he was fired or forced out.
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What the appointment does—and does not—signal
The move reasonably suggests that Activision wanted senior technical coordination from an executive with experience spanning graphics, engines, tools, platforms, and studio-scale engineering. Those skills are applicable to a publisher operating multiple studios and high-profile franchises.
But the public announcement does not support claims that Tatarchuk was hired specifically to fix a particular Call of Duty problem, replace an engine, lead Microsoft’s gaming technology organization, launch an AI initiative, or change Activision’s live-service strategy. The appointment’s clearest confirmed meaning is narrower: Tatarchuk took responsibility for Activision Publishing’s technology goals during an important ownership and leadership transition.
Her current status
As of August 18, 2026, Activision’s official leadership page lists Tatarchuk as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, alongside President Rob Kostich, COO Joshua Taub, and Head of Development David Stohl.
The company’s page uses “Natasha Tatarchuk,” while the 2024 appointment reports and headline used “Natalya Tatarchuk.” The page also contains a spelling inconsistency in an image caption. Those variations do not change the central leadership fact: Tatarchuk remains listed as Activision’s technology chief on the current official page.
Quick Recap
Sources
- GamesBeat: Tatarchuk’s appointment and remit
- GeekWire: personnel and career background
- Microsoft: acquisition announcement
- Microsoft: acquisition completion and organizational context
- Activision Blizzard: completion filing
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