Activision Blizzard is an American holding company. It formed after the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games in July 2008. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the company is the largest gaming company in America and Europe. Activision Blizzard has produced many hit franchises including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Warcraft, and Candy Crush Saga. Call of Duty and StarCraft are popular esports. The company intends to push forward their esports activities with the launch of the Overwatch League.
Official website: https://www.activisionblizzard.com/
How Did The Merger Of Activision Inc And Vivendi Take Effect?
Bobby Kotick acquired Mediagenic in 1991 and reformed it as Activision. It took 6 years to make the failing business profitable. Eventually, over 20 studios were acquired during the expansion period of Activision. During this period, the launching of many successful franchises took place. Despite the hard work, Massively Multiplayer Online games were becoming a hit and Activision did not have any such game.
Close to the end of 2006, Kotick reached out to Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of Vivendi. Vivendi Games was a subsidiary and principally held Blizzard Entertainment. After many deliberations, in December 2007, Vivendi and Activision merged which led to the formation of Activision Blizzard. It got approved in April 2008. The deal was to target the gaming market in China and acquire Blizzard’s famous MMO, World of Warcraft. In 2013, Activision Blizzard became an independent company by buying a majority of Vivendi’s shares.
What Are Some Of The Famous Games Launched By The Giants?
Activision Blizzard was the largest gaming publisher in the world in 2010. It publishes video games under one of its subsidiaries. Few of the games and series that have made them one of the best developers are:
- Call of Duty is an FPS game that started out in 2003. It focused on World Wars initially but later expanded its theme. The later parts are set in modern worlds. The various parts have been developed by different companies with Sledgehammer Games currently in charge. The series has sold over 250 million copies.
- Warcraft is a franchise that includes games, novels, and a movie. It was developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It is composed of 5 main parts with the first three being RPG. The fourth part was an MMORPG that attracted Activision to Vivendi. The world of Warcraft is massive and has many characters and NPCs.
- Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure game. It is based in the Sengoku period of Japan’s history and follows a shinobi named Wolf. It is a hard game and is critically acclaimed. Moreover, it was launched in 2019 but has already sold over 3.8 million copies worldwide.
Expect The Unexpected From Activision Blizzard
The holding company indeed has many gems to its crown. The various studios have worked hard and as a publisher, it has hosted many franchises. Activision Blizzard has introduced many high-quality and excellent games to the gaming industry.
The Call of Duty series keeps the fans on the edge of their seats and much is expected from future installments. Diablo and mobile games such as Candy Crush Saga are also popular amongst the youth. The impact of Activision Blizzard can be determined from the fact that it is one of the two gaming companies to be listed on the S&P 500.