fbpx
Wikipedia

Activision Blizzard

February 15, 2024

Activision Blizzard, Inc.[a] is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California.[3] Activision Blizzard currently includes five business units:[4] Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, King,[5] Major League Gaming,[6] and Activision Blizzard Studios.[7][8]

Activision Blizzard, Inc.
Former Activision headquarters in Santa Monica, California
Company typeSubsidiary
Nasdaq: ATVI (2008–2023)
IndustryVideo games
Predecessors
FoundedJuly 9, 2008; 15 years ago (2008-07-09)
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California
,
US
Key people
  • Thomas Tippl
  • (vice chairman)
Products
RevenueUS$7.53 billion (2022)
US$1.67 billion (2022)
US$1.51 billion (2022)
Total assetsUS$27.4 billion (2022)
Total equityUS$19.2 billion (2022)
Number of employees
17,000[1] (2023)
ParentVivendi (2008–2013)
Microsoft Gaming (2023–present)
DivisionsActivision Blizzard Consumer Products Group
Activision Blizzard Esports
Activision Blizzard Media
Subsidiaries
Websiteactivisionblizzard.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

Founded in July 2008 through the merger of Activision, Inc. (the publicly traded parent company of Activision Publishing) and Vivendi Games, the company owns and operates additional subsidiary studios, as part of Activision Publishing, including Treyarch, Infinity Ward, High Moon Studios, and Toys for Bob.[4] Among major intellectual properties produced by Activision Blizzard are Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk's, Spyro, Skylanders, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, and Candy Crush Saga. Under Blizzard Entertainment, it invested in esports initiatives around several of its games, most notably Overwatch and Call of Duty. Activision Blizzard's titles have broken a number of release records.[9][10][11] As of March 2018, it was the largest game company in the Americas and Europe in terms of revenue and market capitalization.[12]

The company has also been involved in multiple notable controversies, including allegations of infringed patents and unpaid royalties.[13][14][15] In late July 2021, it was sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on allegations of sexual harassment and employee discrimination.[16] The suit triggered an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,[17] multiple workplace walkouts,[18] the resignation or dismissal of several employees, the loss of multiple company event sponsors,[19][20] and hundreds of workplace harassment allegations.[21]

Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion on January 18, 2022. The acquisition was completed on October 13, 2023.[22] Activision Blizzard is a subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming along with Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax Media.[23]

History

Background and formation (2007–2008)

The original Activision company was founded in 1979, as a third-party developer for games on the Atari Video Computer System. In 1988 the company expanded into non-gaming software and renamed itself Mediagenic. This venture was not successful, incurring heavy losses. In 1991 a group of investors led by Bobby Kotick bought the company. Kotick instituted a large restructuring to reduce debt, including renaming the company back to Activision and moving it to Santa Monica, California. By 1997 the company was profitable again. Kotick spent the next decade expanding Activision's products through acquisitions of around 25 studios. This resulted in Activision publishing several successful series of games, including Tony Hawk's, Call of Duty, and Guitar Hero. However, by around 2006, the popularity of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games started to grow. Such games provide a constant revenue stream to their publishers, rather than only a single purchase, making them a more valuable proposition. None of Activision's subsidiaries had an MMO or the capability to make one quickly. Activision was also facing tougher competition from companies like Electronic Arts, as well as slowdowns in sales of their key game series.[24]

Around 2006, Kotick reached out to Jean-Bernard Lévy, the CEO of the French media conglomerate Vivendi. Vivendi at that time had the games division Vivendi Games, a holding company principally for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Kotick wanted to get access to Blizzard's World of Warcraft, a successful MMO, and suggested a means to acquire this to Lévy. Lévy instead offered that he would be willing to merge Vivendi Games with Activision, but only if Vivendi kept majority control of the merged company. According to those close to Kotick, Kotick was concerned about this offer as it would force him to cede control of Activision. However, after talking to Blizzard's CEO Mike Morhaime, Kotick recognized that Vivendi would be able to give them inroads into the growing video game market in China.[24]

Kotick proposed the merger to Activision's board, which agreed to it in December 2007. The new company was to be named Activision Blizzard and would retain its central headquarters in California. Bobby Kotick of Activision was announced as the new president and CEO, while René Penisson of Vivendi was appointed chairman.[25] The European Commission permitted the merger to take place in April 2008, approving that there weren't any EU antitrust issues in the merger deal.[26] On July 8, 2008, Activision announced that stockholders had agreed to merge, and the deal closed the next day for an estimated transaction amount of US$18.9 billion.[27]

 
Bobby Kotick (pictured in 2012) served as the CEO of Activision Blizzard from 2008 to 2023.

Vivendi became the combined company's majority shareholder at 54% of outstanding shares, equating to 52% if shares were to be fully diluted.[28][29] The rest of the shares were held by institutional and private investors, and were to be left open for trading on the NASDAQ stock market for a time under Nasdaq: ATVID, and subsequently as Nasdaq: ATVI (Activision's stock ticker). At this point, Lévy replaced René Penisson as chairman of Activision Blizzard.[30] The merger was completed on July 9.[28][31] While Blizzard retained its autonomy and corporate leadership in the merger, other Vivendi Games divisions such as Sierra ceased operation.[32] With the merger, Kotick was quoted stating if a Sierra product did not meet Activision's requirements, they "won't likely be retained."[32] Some of these games ultimately were published by other studios, including Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Brütal Legend, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.[33] However, a number of Sierra's games such as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Prototype were retained and are now published by Activision.[34][35]

New titles and sales records (2009–2012)

In early 2010, the independent studio Bungie entered into a 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard.[36][37] By the end of 2010, Activision Blizzard was the largest video games publisher in the world.[38] The 2011 release of Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 grossed $400 million in the US and UK alone in its first 24 hours, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time.[39] It was also the third consecutive year the Call of Duty series broke the biggest launch record; 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops grossed $360 million on day one; and 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 brought in $310 million.[9] Call of Duty: Black Ops III grossed $550 million in worldwide sales during its opening weekend in 2015, making it the biggest entertainment launch of the year.[10][11]

In 2011, Activision Blizzard debuted its Skylanders franchise,[40] which led to the press crediting the company with inventing and popularizing a new toys-to-life category.[40][41][42] The first release Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure was nominated for two Toy Industry Association awards in 2011: "Game of the Year" and "Innovative Toy of the Year".[43] Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure and its sequels were released for major consoles and PC, and many were released on mobile devices as well.[40]

Split from Vivendi and growth (2013–2014)

 
Activision Blizzard at Gamescom 2013, where the company exhibited 2013 titles such as Call of Duty: Ghosts and Skylanders: Swap Force.

On July 25, 2013, Activision Blizzard announced the purchase of 429 million shares from owner Vivendi for $5.83 billion, dropping the shareholder from a 63% stake to 11.8% by the end of the deal in September.[44] At the conclusion of the deal, Vivendi was no longer Activision Blizzard's parent company,[45] and Activision Blizzard became an independent company as a majority of the shares became owned by the public. Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly retained a 24.4% stake in the company overall. In addition, Kotick remained the president and CEO, with Brian Kelly taking over as chairman.[44] On October 12, 2013, shortly after approval from the Delaware Supreme Court, the company completed the buyback, along the lines of the original plan.[46] Vivendi sold half its remaining stake on May 22, 2014, reducing its ownership to 5.8%.[47] and completely exited two years later.[48]

Activision Blizzard released a new title, Destiny, on September 9, 2014. The game made over $500 million in retail sales on the first day of release, setting a record for the biggest first day launch of a new gaming franchise.[49] On November 5, 2013, the company released Call of Duty: Ghosts, which was written by screenwriter Stephen Gaghan.[50] On its first release day the game sold $1 billion into retail.[49] In 2014, Activision Blizzard was the fifth largest gaming company by revenue worldwide,[51] with total assets of US$14.746 billion and total equity estimated at US$7.513 billion.[52]

S&P 500 and new divisions (2015–2021)

Activision Blizzard joined the S&P 500 stock index on August 28, 2015, becoming one of only two companies on the list related to gaming, alongside Electronic Arts.[53] The company released the next iteration of the Skylanders franchise in September 2015, which added vehicles to the "toys to life" category.[54] On September 15, 2015, Activision and Bungie released Destiny: The Taken King, the follow-up to the Destiny saga. Two days later, Sony announced that the game broke the record for the most downloaded day-one game in PlayStation history, in terms of both total players and peak online concurrency.[55]

Activision Blizzard acquired social gaming company King, creator of casual game Candy Crush Saga, for $5.9 billion in November 2015.[5]

In November 2015, Activision Blizzard announced the formation of Activision Blizzard Studios, a film production arm that would produce films and television series based on Activision Blizzard's franchises.[8] The outfit is co-headed by producer Stacey Sher and former The Walt Disney Company executive Nick van Dyk.[56][57]

In June 2017, Activision Blizzard joined the Fortune 500 becoming the third gaming company in history to make the list after Atari and Electronic Arts.[58]

In its 2018 fiscal year earnings call to shareholders in February 2019, Kotick stated that while the company had seen a record year in revenue, they would be laying off around 775 people or around 8% of their workforce in non-management divisions, "de-prioritizing initiatives that are not meeting expectations and reducing certain non-development and administrative-related costs across the business", according to Kotick.[59] Kotick stated that they plan to put more resources towards their development teams and focus on esports, Battle.net services, and the publisher's core games which include Candy Crush, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Warcraft, Diablo, and Hearthstone. Prior to this, Activision Blizzard and Bungie agreed to terminate their distribution deal with Destiny 2 as it was not bringing in expected revenue for Activision, with Bungie otherwise retaining all rights to Destiny.[59] This transaction allowed Activision Blizzard to report US$164 million as part of its 2018 fiscal year filings.[60]

The company announced that Daniel Alegre would replace Coddy Johnson as president of Activision Blizzard effective April 7, 2020, with Johnson transitioning to special advisory role.[61]

During the second quarter of 2020, the company's net revenues from digital channels reached $1.44bn due to the growing demand for online games driven by COVID-19 lockdowns.[62] By January 2021, the company's net value was estimated to be $72 billion based on its stock trading price due to the ongoing demand for video games from the COVID-19 pandemic.[63]

The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia acquired 14.9 million shares of Activision Blizzard, valued at $1.4 billion, in February 2021.[64]

In April 2021, Fernando Machado, former Brazilian executive at Burger King, joined the company as chief marketing officer (CMO).[65] The company also announced in April 2021 that Kotick will remain CEO through April 2023, through Kotick agreed to take a 50% cut of his pay, equal to $875,000. Kotick will remain eligible to receive annual bonuses, and while he agreed to reduce his target bonus by 50% as well, he potentially can earn up to 200% of his base pay based on the company's performance.[66]

Workplace misconduct lawsuit and acquisition by Microsoft (2021–present)

Main articles: California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Activision Blizzard, Activision Blizzard worker organization, and Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft

On July 20, 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed a suit alleging sexual harassment, employment discrimination and retaliation on the part of Activision Blizzard. A second lawsuit was filed against the company by its shareholders asserting it falsified knowledge of these problems in their financial statements,[67] though this suit was dismissed due to failure to meet thresholds for claims,[68] The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had also filed suit against Activision-Blizzard from their own investigation of the workplace conditions but the company had settled the same day it was filed, which included setting aside an $18 million relief fund for affected employees.[69] Ultimately, the DFEH and Activision Blizzard agreed to a $54 million settlement in December 2023 to cover pay and promotion inequities at the company, both agreeing there was no substantial evidence of widespread harassment.[70]

Main article: Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft

On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced that it would be acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in an all-cash deal, or approximately $95 per share. Activision Blizzard's stock price jumped nearly 40% that day in pre-market trading. The deal would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in the world and the largest headquartered in the Americas, behind Chinese company Tencent and the Japanese conglomerate Sony. Activision Blizzard's shareholders approved of the acquisition near-unanimously in April 2022.[71] While the deal has been approved by several countries ahead of the planned October 18, 2023, deal closure, including the European Union and China, both the United States' Federal Trade Commission and the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority have challenged the merger as anticompetitive and have initiated legal procedures in their respective countries. To resolve these issues, Microsoft agreed to give rights to cloud gaming of Activision Blizzard's games to Ubisoft, which was cleared by regulators. The acquisition was completed on October 13, 2023.[72] The last time Activision Blizzard reported their annual financial results for its shareholders before Microsoft acquired them was on February 6, 2023. Activision Blizzard reported $7.54 billion in revenue and $1.52 billion in net income.[73] As part of the acquisition deal, Kotick announced his resignation as CEO the same day, along with other high level executives, though Kotick will remain onboard through the end of 2023 to help with the transition.[74] Bobby Kotick departed Activision Blizzard on December 29, 2023.[75]

Games

Corporate structure

Activision Blizzard
Activision
Blizzard Entertainment
King
  • King Publishing – Mobile games developer, publishing label and main development team of Candy Crush Saga series

Activision Blizzard is divided into three key business segments:[76][77]

There are also two non-reporting segments within Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard Studios oversees the production of film and television entertainment based on the company's properties. Activision Blizzard Distribution provides logistical support for Activision Blizzard's distribution within Europe.

Esports initiatives

Activision Blizzard owns the Call of Duty and StarCraft franchises, both of which have been popular as esports.[6][78] On October 21, 2015, Activision Blizzard announced the upcoming establishment of a new e-sports division.[7] Named Activision Blizzard Media Networks, the division is led by sports executive Steve Bornstein and Major League Gaming (MLG) co-founder Mike Sepso, with assets from the acquisition of the now defunct IGN Pro League. Bornstein was appointed the new division's chairman.[6][78] On December 31, 2015, it was reported that "substantially all" of Major League Gaming's assets would be acquired by Activision Blizzard.[6][78] The New York Times reported that the acquisition was intended to bolster Activision Blizzard's push into e-sports, as well as its plan to develop an e-sports cable channel.[79] Reports indicated that MLG would be shuttered and that the majority of the purchase price would go towards paying off the company's debt.[6][78] Activision Blizzard acquired MLG on January 4, 2016[79] for $46 million.[6][78]

In November 2016, Blizzard Entertainment, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, announced the launch of Overwatch League,[80] a professional video gaming league. The league's first season began during the second half of 2017 with 12 teams.[81] The league's structure is based on traditional sports structures, including recruiting traditional sports executives as team owners, such as Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and Jeff Wilpon, COO of the New York Mets.[82]

The inaugural Overwatch Grand Finals was played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in July 2018 and attracted 10.8 million viewers worldwide.[83] The league hopes to have 18 teams competing during the second season in 2019, with the ultimate goal of 28 teams across the world.[84]

In 2018, Activision Blizzard signed a multi-year deal with The Walt Disney Company to stream Overwatch League games on both ESPN and Disney XD cable channels.[85][86] The company also secured an exclusive multi-year deal with Google to stream all subsequent Activision Blizzard esports events, including Call of Duty and Overwatch events, through YouTube, and to use Google's cloud services for its game hosting infrastructure; this came after a prior two-year deal with Twitch for the Overwatch League had concluded. The deal with YouTube was estimated to be valued at US$160 million, double what it had with Twitch.[87][88]

Call of Duty Endowment

Main article: Call of Duty Endowment

Since 2009, when Kotick launched Call of Duty Endowment (CODE), over 50,000 veterans have been placed in high-quality jobs.[89] In 2013 CODE started the "Seal of Distinction" program, which recognizes non-profit organizations that are successful in placing veterans in good jobs. Winners receive a $30,000 grant to use in their veteran job placement activities.[90] The goal of CODE is to help 100,000 US and UK veterans find high-quality jobs by 2024.[91] The endowment helps soldiers transition to civilian careers after their military service by funding nonprofit organizations and raising awareness of the value veterans bring to the workplace.[92]

Other legal disputes

Worlds, Inc.

Worlds, Inc. was issued several United States patents around 2009 related to "System and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space", which generally described a method of server/client communications for multiplayer video games, where players would communicate through avatars. In early 2009, Worlds, Inc. stated its intent to challenge publishers and developers of MMOs, naming Activision as one of its intended targets.[93] Worlds, Inc. had already challenged NCSoft for its MMOs in 2008. The companies ultimately settled out of court by 2010.[94]

Worlds, Inc. launched its formal lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, including both Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Publishing, in March 2012, stating that Call of Duty and World of Warcraft infringed on their patents.[14][13] Activision Publishing filed a separate patent infringement lawsuit in October 2013, asserting that Worlds, Inc. was using two Activision-owned patents in its Worlds Player software,[13][95][96] but this suit was dismissed with prejudice by June 2014.[97]

In Worlds, Inc. case against Activision, the judge issued a summary judgement in Activision's favor, as they had demonstrated that Worlds, Inc. had demonstrated the technologies of their patents in their client programs AlphaWorld and World Chat, released before the 1995 priority date, though this was related to filing irregularities that were subsequently corrected by the Patent Office.[98] Activision did not challenge the updated patents through an inter partes review (IPR), and subsequently after a statutory one-year waiting period, Worlds, Inc. filed a subsequently lawsuit against Activision, asserting Call of Duty: Ghosts violated their resolved patents.[99] Later, Worlds, Inc. stated the intent to add Bungie to the lawsuit contending that Destiny also fell afoul of their patents. Bungie subsequently filed three IPRs with the Patent Office for each of the three Worlds, Inc. patents at the core of the lawsuit. While Bungie initially won its IPR ruling at the USPTO, on appeal in September 2018, Worlds, Inc. won a ruling questioning whether Bungie had legal standing to file its IPRs.[100][101]

The new Worlds, Inc. case against Activision Blizzard was heard on October 3, 2014. With Bungie's IPRs pending at the Patent Office, the judge put the trial on hold pending the outcome of the IPRs. Worlds, Inc. challenged the IPRs at the Patent Office, as they did not include Activision as an interested party, a requirement that would have been necessary given the publisher/developer relationship between Activision and Bungie. The Patent Office did not accept this argument, and subsequently agreed with the Bungie IPRs that portions of Worlds, Inc. patents were invalid. Worlds, Inc. appealed to the Federal Circuit Appeals Court, challenging the validity of the IPRs due to the lack of Activision's involvement. The Federal Circuit court ruled in favor of Worlds, Inc. in September 2018, invalidating the Patent Office's decision.[102] Worlds, Inc.'s case presently remains at the Patent Office stage, which is re-reviewing the IPRs in consideration of the Federal Circuit's ruling.[103] The lawsuit was dismissed in 2021, when a US district court ruled that "Worlds' patents were abstract ideas that were not sufficiently transformative to be legally patentable."[104]

Infinity Ward

In early 2010, Activision fired Vince Zampella and Jason West, two of the founders of its studio Infinity Ward, on the basis of "breaches of contract and insubordination"; the move caused several other Infinity Ward staff to resign. Zampella and West created a new studio, Respawn Entertainment, with help from Electronic Arts' partner program, hiring the majority of those that departed Infinity Ward in their wake.[105][106][107]

Zampella and West filed a lawsuit in April 2010 against Activision, claiming unpaid royalties on the studio's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Activision filed a countersuit against the two, accusing the pair of being "self-serving schemers".[15] Activision later sought to add Electronic Arts to their suit, discovering that Zampella and West had been in discussions with them while still working for Activision, and further added claims against Zampella and West that the two had not returned all material related to Call of Duty while they were working at Respawn. A separate lawsuit was filed against Activision in April 2010 by several current and former members of Infinity Ward on the same basis of lack of unpaid royalties.[108]

All parties came to an undisclosed settlement to end all suits by May 2012. Electronic Arts and Activision had settled separately on Activision's charges of poaching employees, while the suits between Activision, Zampella, West, and the Infinity Ward employee group were settled by the end of May 2012. All settlements were made for undisclosed amounts.[109]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Following the acquisition of King, Activision Blizzard is sometimes referred to as ABK (Activision-Blizzard-King).

References

  1. ^ "Bobby Kotick Breaks His Silence: Embattled Activision CEO Addresses Toxic Workforce Claims as Microsoft Deal Hangs in Balance". Variety. May 31, 2023.
  2. ^ "Activision Blizzard 2022 Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 23, 2023.
  3. ^ Tarver, Evan (March 15, 2016). "Top 5 Mutual Fund Holders of Activision Blizzard (ATVI, FOCPX)". Investopedia. from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Activision - Blizzard: Our Company". activisionblizzard.com. from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Activision Blizzard to Buy King Digital, Maker of Candy Crush". The New York Times. November 2, 2015. from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Activision Blizzard beefs up e-sports muscle". CNET. from the original on January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Morris, Chris (October 22, 2015). "Why Activision-Blizzard just launched a new eSports division". Fortune. from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Goldfarb, Andrew (November 6, 2015). "Call of Duty Movie, Skylander TV Show Headline New Activision Blizzard Film Studio". IGN. from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  9. ^ a b . November 11, 2011. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  10. ^ a b Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 selling 'significantly' better than Advanced Warfare and Ghosts April 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine By Samit Sarkar on November 11, 2015, at 5:30p @SamitSarkar
  11. ^ a b Knight, Shawn (January 15, 2016). "'Call of Duty: Black Ops III' was the best-selling game of 2015". TechSpot. from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  12. ^ Jordan, Jon (March 16, 2018). "Earnings report roundup: Game industry winners and losers in Q4 2017". www.gamasutra.com. from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c "Activision Publishing Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Worlds Inc. and Worlds Online Inc". Activision Blizzard press release. October 4, 2013. from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Activision Blizzard sued for patent infringement of virtual worlds usage". GamesIndustry.biz. April 6, 2012. from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Reilly, Jim (April 9, 2010). "Activision Countersues Former Infinity Ward Execs". IGN. from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  16. ^ Allsup, Maeve (July 21, 2021). "Activision Blizzard Sued Over 'Frat Boy' culture, Harassment". Bloomberg Law. from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  17. ^ Grind, Kirsten; Needleman, Sarah E. (September 20, 2021). "SEC Is Investigating Activision Blizzard Over Workplace Practices, Disclosures". The Wall Street Journal. from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  18. ^ Schiffer, Zoe; Webster, Andrew (July 27, 2021). "Activision Blizzard employees to walk out following sexual harassment lawsuit". The Verge. from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  19. ^ McWhertor, Michael (August 3, 2021). "Activision Blizzard loses T-Mobile as sponsor for Overwatch, Call of Duty esports leagues". Polygon. from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Amid harassment lawsuit, advertisers pull back from Blizzard's Overwatch League". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  21. ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "Activision Blizzard Employees Are Done With CEO Bobby Kotick". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  22. ^ Warren, Tom (October 13, 2023). "Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty now part of Xbox". The Verge. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  23. ^ Patnaik, Subrat. "Microsoft to buy 'Call of Duty' maker for $68.7 bln in gaming push". Reuters. from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Beller, Peter (January 15, 2009). "Activision's Unlikely Hero". Forbes. from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  25. ^ "Vivendi and Activision to Create Activision Blizzard - World's Largest, Most Profitable Pure-Play Video Game Publisher". Activision.com. December 2, 2007. from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  26. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander. . Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  27. ^ Thang, Jimmy. . Archived from the original on August 1, 2008.
  28. ^ a b "Vivendi and Activision Complete Transaction to Create Activision Blizzard" (Press release). Activision Blizzard. July 10, 2009. from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  29. ^ Alexander, Leigh (July 8, 2008). "Activision Blizzard Merger Official". Kotaku. from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  30. ^ Thorsen, Tor; Sinclair, Brendan (May 5, 2009). "Vivendi CEO Activision Blizzard's new chairman". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  31. ^ Alexander, Leigh (July 10, 2008). "Activision Blizzard Merger Finalized". kotaku.com. from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  32. ^ a b "Blizzard stay autonomous in Activision merger, Sierra not so lucky - Strategy Informer". from the original on July 29, 2008.
  33. ^ Saltzman, Marc (August 2, 2008). "Gaming merger leaves Ghostbusters in limbo". Toronto Star. from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  34. ^ Sinclair, Brendan. "Brutal Legend, Ghostbusters, more dropped by Activision". from the original on April 7, 2009.
  35. ^ Noonan, Keith (April 20, 2018). "Activision Blizzard Aims to Breathe New Life Into This Classic Franchise". The Motley Fool. from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  36. ^ Klepek, Patrick (April 29, 2010). "Industry Shocker: Developer Bungie Signs Deal With Activision". G4tv.com. from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  37. ^ Kohler, Chris (April 29, 2010). "Bungie, Activision Sign 10-Year Publishing Deal". Wired. from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  38. ^ Palmer, Maija; Bradshaw, Tim (June 30, 2010). "Computer games industry hits at tax rethink". Financial Times. from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  39. ^ Crecente, Brian (November 11, 2011). "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Shatters All Sales Records". Kotaku. from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  40. ^ a b c Ewalt, David (July 29, 2011). "Bobby Kotick On Hatching Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure". Forbes. from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  41. ^ "Skylanders story". polygon.com. April 16, 2014. from the original on September 1, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  42. ^ Takahashi, Dean (June 5, 2012). "With Skylanders Giants, Activision could dominate toys and video games (video and gallery)". VentureBeat. from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  43. ^ Appell, Adrienne. . Toy Industry Association. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  44. ^ a b "Activision Blizzard Announces Transformative Purchase of Shares from Vivendi and New Capital Structure". from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  45. ^ Seppala, Timothy (October 13, 2013). "Activision Blizzard completes buyback from Vivendi Universal in multi-billion dollar deal". Engadget. from the original on January 3, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  46. ^ Makuch, Eddie (October 12, 2013). "Activision Blizzard completes buyback from Vivendi". GameSpot. from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  47. ^ "Vivendi to sell 41.5 million Activision Blizzard shares". from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  48. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (January 15, 2016). "Vivendi Sells Remaining Activision Blizzard Stake to Unknown Buyer". from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  49. ^ a b Kain, Erik (September 10, 2014). "'Destiny' Crosses $500 Million On Day One, Biggest New Video Game Launch Ever". Forbes. from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  50. ^ Chmielewski, Dawn (December 10, 2013). "Challenge for Activision CEO: capitalizing on next-gen game consoles". Los Angeles Times. from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  51. ^ "The Top 25 Public Companies Generated $54.1Bn Game Revenues in 2014, Up 10.4% Year-on-Year". NewZoo. April 20, 2015. from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  52. ^ "Activision Blizzard - Annual Report 2013" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2014.
  53. ^ Takahashi, Dean (August 27, 2015). "Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard joins the S&P 500". VentureBeat. from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  54. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (June 3, 2015). "Skylanders SuperChargers adds vehicles to the list". Eurogamer. from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  55. ^ Parfitt, Ben (September 18, 2015). "Destiny: The Taken King claims PSN's records". MCV - UK. from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  56. ^ Vincent, James (January 13, 2016). "Activision Blizzard recruits ex-Tarantino producer to turn its video games into films". The Verge. from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  57. ^ Jackson, Jasper (April 5, 2017). "Could the Call of Duty franchise be the next Marvel?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  58. ^ "Activision Blizzard Aims for the Big Leagues". from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  59. ^ a b Axon, Samuel (February 12, 2019). "Activision-Blizzard lays off 775 people after "record results in 2018"". Ars Technica. from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  60. ^ Bailey, Dustin (March 1, 2019). "Activision reports $164 million in revenue from handing Destiny back to Bungie". PCGamesN. from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  61. ^ Makuch, Eddie (March 11, 2020). "Activision Blizzard Has A New President -- Here's How Much Money He Makes". GameSpot. from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  62. ^ "Lockdown and loaded: virus triggers video game boost". BBC News. May 6, 2020. from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  63. ^ Taylor, Mollie (January 21, 2021). "Activision Blizzard is currently valued at $72 billion". PC Gamer. from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  64. ^ Kerr, Chris (February 18, 2021). "Saudi investment fund acquires shares in Activision Blizzard, Take-Two, and EA". Gamasutra. from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  65. ^ "Fernando Machado join Activision Blizzard as CMO". Ad Age. April 2, 2021. from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  66. ^ Partis, Danielle (April 29, 2021). "Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick takes 50% pay cut". GamesIndustry.biz. from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  67. ^ Orland, Kyle (August 3, 2021). "Shareholders sue Activision Blizzard for withholding harassment info". Ars Technica. from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  68. ^ Allsup, Maeve (April 20, 2022). "Activision Gets Investor Suit Over Sex Harassment Probes Tossed". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  69. ^ Robertson, Adi (September 27, 2021). "US employment watchdog sues Activision Blizzard over discrimination claims". The Verge. from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  70. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Hirsch, Lauren (December 15, 2023). "California Drops Sexual Harassment Suit in $54 Million Settlement With Activision". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  71. ^ "Activision Blizzard shareholders approve $68.7 bln Microsoft deal". Reuters. April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  72. ^ Ivan, Tom (October 13, 2023). "Microsoft has officially completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  73. ^ "Activision Blizzard Announces Fourth Quarter and 2022 Financial Results". Yahoo Finance. February 6, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  74. ^ Makuch, Eddie (October 13, 2023). "Microsoft Officially Acquires Activision, Nearly Two Years Later; Bobby Kotick Resigns". GameSpot. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  75. ^ Spangler, Todd (December 20, 2023). "Microsoft Sets New Activision Blizzard Management Structure as Bobby Kotick Confirms Exit Date". Variety. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  76. ^ "2017 Annual Report". Activision Blizzard. pp. 2–3. from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  77. ^ "About Our Company: Our Operating Units". Activision Blizzard. from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  78. ^ a b c d e Walton, Mark (January 4, 2016). "Report: Major League Gaming shuttered after $46 million Activision buyout". Ars Technica. from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  79. ^ a b Wingfield, Nick (January 4, 2016). "Activision Buys Major League Gaming to Broaden Role in E-Sports". The New York Times. from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  80. ^ "Blizzard to launch pro sports league for 'Overwatch'". USA TODAY. from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  81. ^ "Blizzard to launch pro sports league for 'Overwatch'". USA TODAY. from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  82. ^ Song, Kelly (July 16, 2017). "Activision Blizzard is building a professional esports league". www.cnbc.com. from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  83. ^ Makuch, Eddie (August 8, 2018). "Overwatch League Grand Finals Reached Nearly 11 Million Viewers". GameSpot. from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  84. ^ "Overwatch League aims to get teams to their home cities by 2020, sources said". ESPN.com. June 6, 2018. from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  85. ^ Seitz, Patrick (July 11, 2018). "Activision Signs Esports Broadcast Deal With Disney For Overwatch League". Investor's Business Daily. from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  86. ^ Gutierrez, Carlos M. Jr. (March 27, 2017). "Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick on Inspiring Play, Competition, and Community". Huffington Post. from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  87. ^ Spangler, Todd (January 24, 2020). "YouTube Scores Exclusive Streaming for Activision Blizzard's E-Sports, Including Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues". Variety. from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  88. ^ Stern, Adam (February 16, 2020). "Sources: YouTube's Deal With Activision Blizzard Valued At $160M". The Esports Observer. from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  89. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (October 15, 2018). "Call of Duty Endowment Finds Jobs For 50,000 Veterans". Variety. from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  90. ^ Gutierrez, Carlos M. Jr. (March 27, 2017). "Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick on Inspiring Play, Competition, and Communit". Huffington Post. from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  91. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (October 15, 2018). "Call of Duty Endowment Finds Jobs For 50,000 Veterans". Variety.com. from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  92. ^ "Call of Duty Endowment and U.S. Army create Code Bowl esports event for armed forces". VentureBeat. December 5, 2019. from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  93. ^ Krangel, Eric (March 11, 2009). "Worlds.com CEO: We're 'Absolutely' Going To Sue Second Life And World Of Warcraft". Business Insider. from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  94. ^ Bayer, Rudi (April 27, 2010). . Joystiq. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  95. ^ Suszek, Mike (October 7, 2013). "Activision files virtual worlds patent countersuit against Worlds Inc". Engadget. from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  96. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (October 7, 2013). "Activision files software patent infringement suit against Worlds Inc". Polygon. from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  97. ^ "Activision Publishing Lawsuit Against Worlds Inc., Worlds Online Dismissed With Prejudice". Worlds Inc. from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019 – via Yahoo! Finance/Marketwired.
  98. ^ Harper, Elizaabeth (March 19, 2014). "Blizzard scores a victory against patent troll Worlds, Inc". Engadget. from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  99. ^ Roberts, Jeff (March 14, 2014). "World of Warcraft beats trolls in fight over 1996 "virtual worlds" patent". Gigaom. from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  100. ^ "Worlds Wins Full Reversal of PTAB Invalidation Ruling from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC)". Globe Newswire (Press release). September 10, 2018. from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  101. ^ Decker, Susan (September 7, 2018). "Worlds Wins Appeals Court Ruling in Activision Patent Fight". Bloomberg Law. from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  102. ^ "Worlds Inc. v. Bungie, Inc. – Patent Arcade". patentarcade.com. from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  103. ^ "USPTO Review Validates 6 Worlds Inc. Patent Claims for Multi-Player Online Gaming Technology" (Press release). Worlds Inc. December 1, 2016. from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019 – via GlobeNewswire News Room.
  104. ^ Boudreau, Ian (May 5, 2021). "After nine years, judge throws out WoW patent lawsuit". PC Games N. from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  105. ^ Kollar, Phil (March 1, 2010). "UPDATE: Infinity Ward Vs. Activision". GameInformer. from the original on May 8, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  106. ^ Walker, Richard (March 4, 2010). "Future Modern Warfare Releases Could Be Vetoed By West and Zampella". Xbox360Achievements. from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  107. ^ "Who Remains At Infinity Ward ?". www.cynicalsmirk.com. from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  108. ^ Ryckert, Dan (April 27, 2010). "Activision Sued By New "Infinity Ward Employee Group"". GameInformer. from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  109. ^ McWhertor, Michael (May 31, 2012). "Settlement reached in Call of Duty's billion dollar West v. Activision lawsuit". Polygon. from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Activision Blizzard.
  • Official website
    • Historical business data for Activision Blizzard:
    • SEC filings

February 15, 2024
activision, blizzard, american, video, game, holding, company, based, santa, monica, california, currently, includes, five, business, units, activision, publishing, blizzard, entertainment, king, major, league, gaming, studios, former, activision, headquarters. Activision Blizzard Inc a is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica California 3 Activision Blizzard currently includes five business units 4 Activision Publishing Blizzard Entertainment King 5 Major League Gaming 6 and Activision Blizzard Studios 7 8 Activision Blizzard Inc Former Activision headquarters in Santa Monica CaliforniaCompany typeSubsidiaryTraded asNasdaq ATVI 2008 2023 IndustryVideo gamesPredecessorsActivision Inc Vivendi GamesFoundedJuly 9 2008 15 years ago 2008 07 09 HeadquartersSanta Monica California USKey peopleThomas Tippl vice chairman ProductsCall of Duty seriesCrash Bandicoot seriesGuitar Hero seriesSkylanders seriesSpyro the Dragon seriesTony Hawk s seriesDiablo seriesHearthstoneHeroes of the StormOverwatch seriesStarCraft seriesWarcraft seriesCandy Crush SagaRevenueUS 7 53 billion 2022 Operating incomeUS 1 67 billion 2022 Net incomeUS 1 51 billion 2022 Total assetsUS 27 4 billion 2022 Total equityUS 19 2 billion 2022 Number of employees17 000 1 2023 ParentVivendi 2008 2013 Microsoft Gaming 2023 present DivisionsActivision Blizzard Consumer Products GroupActivision Blizzard EsportsActivision Blizzard MediaSubsidiariesActivisionBlizzard EntertainmentKingMajor League GamingActivision Blizzard StudiosWebsiteactivisionblizzard comFootnotes references 2 Founded in July 2008 through the merger of Activision Inc the publicly traded parent company of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games the company owns and operates additional subsidiary studios as part of Activision Publishing including Treyarch Infinity Ward High Moon Studios and Toys for Bob 4 Among major intellectual properties produced by Activision Blizzard are Call of Duty Crash Bandicoot Guitar Hero Tony Hawk s Spyro Skylanders World of Warcraft StarCraft Diablo Hearthstone Heroes of the Storm Overwatch and Candy Crush Saga Under Blizzard Entertainment it invested in esports initiatives around several of its games most notably Overwatch and Call of Duty Activision Blizzard s titles have broken a number of release records 9 10 11 As of March 2018 update it was the largest game company in the Americas and Europe in terms of revenue and market capitalization 12 The company has also been involved in multiple notable controversies including allegations of infringed patents and unpaid royalties 13 14 15 In late July 2021 it was sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on allegations of sexual harassment and employee discrimination 16 The suit triggered an investigation by the U S Securities and Exchange Commission 17 multiple workplace walkouts 18 the resignation or dismissal of several employees the loss of multiple company event sponsors 19 20 and hundreds of workplace harassment allegations 21 Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for 68 7 billion on January 18 2022 The acquisition was completed on October 13 2023 22 Activision Blizzard is a subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming along with Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax Media 23 Contents 1 History 1 1 Background and formation 2007 2008 1 2 New titles and sales records 2009 2012 1 3 Split from Vivendi and growth 2013 2014 1 4 S amp P 500 and new divisions 2015 2021 1 5 Workplace misconduct lawsuit and acquisition by Microsoft 2021 present 2 Games 3 Corporate structure 4 Esports initiatives 5 Call of Duty Endowment 6 Other legal disputes 6 1 Worlds Inc 6 2 Infinity Ward 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksHistoryBackground and formation 2007 2008 The original Activision company was founded in 1979 as a third party developer for games on the Atari Video Computer System In 1988 the company expanded into non gaming software and renamed itself Mediagenic This venture was not successful incurring heavy losses In 1991 a group of investors led by Bobby Kotick bought the company Kotick instituted a large restructuring to reduce debt including renaming the company back to Activision and moving it to Santa Monica California By 1997 the company was profitable again Kotick spent the next decade expanding Activision s products through acquisitions of around 25 studios This resulted in Activision publishing several successful series of games including Tony Hawk s Call of Duty and Guitar Hero However by around 2006 the popularity of massively multiplayer online MMO games started to grow Such games provide a constant revenue stream to their publishers rather than only a single purchase making them a more valuable proposition None of Activision s subsidiaries had an MMO or the capability to make one quickly Activision was also facing tougher competition from companies like Electronic Arts as well as slowdowns in sales of their key game series 24 Around 2006 Kotick reached out to Jean Bernard Levy the CEO of the French media conglomerate Vivendi Vivendi at that time had the games division Vivendi Games a holding company principally for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment Kotick wanted to get access to Blizzard s World of Warcraft a successful MMO and suggested a means to acquire this to Levy Levy instead offered that he would be willing to merge Vivendi Games with Activision but only if Vivendi kept majority control of the merged company According to those close to Kotick Kotick was concerned about this offer as it would force him to cede control of Activision However after talking to Blizzard s CEO Mike Morhaime Kotick recognized that Vivendi would be able to give them inroads into the growing video game market in China 24 Kotick proposed the merger to Activision s board which agreed to it in December 2007 The new company was to be named Activision Blizzard and would retain its central headquarters in California Bobby Kotick of Activision was announced as the new president and CEO while Rene Penisson of Vivendi was appointed chairman 25 The European Commission permitted the merger to take place in April 2008 approving that there weren t any EU antitrust issues in the merger deal 26 On July 8 2008 Activision announced that stockholders had agreed to merge and the deal closed the next day for an estimated transaction amount of US 18 9 billion 27 nbsp Bobby Kotick pictured in 2012 served as the CEO of Activision Blizzard from 2008 to 2023 Vivendi became the combined company s majority shareholder at 54 of outstanding shares equating to 52 if shares were to be fully diluted 28 29 The rest of the shares were held by institutional and private investors and were to be left open for trading on the NASDAQ stock market for a time under Nasdaq ATVID and subsequently as Nasdaq ATVI Activision s stock ticker At this point Levy replaced Rene Penisson as chairman of Activision Blizzard 30 The merger was completed on July 9 28 31 While Blizzard retained its autonomy and corporate leadership in the merger other Vivendi Games divisions such as Sierra ceased operation 32 With the merger Kotick was quoted stating if a Sierra product did not meet Activision s requirements they won t likely be retained 32 Some of these games ultimately were published by other studios including Ghostbusters The Video Game Brutal Legend The Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena and 50 Cent Blood on the Sand 33 However a number of Sierra s games such as Crash Bandicoot Spyro and Prototype were retained and are now published by Activision 34 35 New titles and sales records 2009 2012 In early 2010 the independent studio Bungie entered into a 10 year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard 36 37 By the end of 2010 Activision Blizzard was the largest video games publisher in the world 38 The 2011 release of Activision Blizzard s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 grossed 400 million in the US and UK alone in its first 24 hours making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time 39 It was also the third consecutive year the Call of Duty series broke the biggest launch record 2010 s Call of Duty Black Ops grossed 360 million on day one and 2009 s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 brought in 310 million 9 Call of Duty Black Ops III grossed 550 million in worldwide sales during its opening weekend in 2015 making it the biggest entertainment launch of the year 10 11 In 2011 Activision Blizzard debuted its Skylanders franchise 40 which led to the press crediting the company with inventing and popularizing a new toys to life category 40 41 42 The first release Skylanders Spyro s Adventure was nominated for two Toy Industry Association awards in 2011 Game of the Year and Innovative Toy of the Year 43 Skylanders Spyro s Adventure and its sequels were released for major consoles and PC and many were released on mobile devices as well 40 Split from Vivendi and growth 2013 2014 nbsp Activision Blizzard at Gamescom 2013 where the company exhibited 2013 titles such as Call of Duty Ghosts and Skylanders Swap Force On July 25 2013 Activision Blizzard announced the purchase of 429 million shares from owner Vivendi for 5 83 billion dropping the shareholder from a 63 stake to 11 8 by the end of the deal in September 44 At the conclusion of the deal Vivendi was no longer Activision Blizzard s parent company 45 and Activision Blizzard became an independent company as a majority of the shares became owned by the public Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly retained a 24 4 stake in the company overall In addition Kotick remained the president and CEO with Brian Kelly taking over as chairman 44 On October 12 2013 shortly after approval from the Delaware Supreme Court the company completed the buyback along the lines of the original plan 46 Vivendi sold half its remaining stake on May 22 2014 reducing its ownership to 5 8 47 and completely exited two years later 48 Activision Blizzard released a new title Destiny on September 9 2014 The game made over 500 million in retail sales on the first day of release setting a record for the biggest first day launch of a new gaming franchise 49 On November 5 2013 the company released Call of Duty Ghosts which was written by screenwriter Stephen Gaghan 50 On its first release day the game sold 1 billion into retail 49 In 2014 Activision Blizzard was the fifth largest gaming company by revenue worldwide 51 with total assets of US 14 746 billion and total equity estimated at US 7 513 billion 52 S amp P 500 and new divisions 2015 2021 Activision Blizzard joined the S amp P 500 stock index on August 28 2015 becoming one of only two companies on the list related to gaming alongside Electronic Arts 53 The company released the next iteration of the Skylanders franchise in September 2015 which added vehicles to the toys to life category 54 On September 15 2015 Activision and Bungie released Destiny The Taken King the follow up to the Destiny saga Two days later Sony announced that the game broke the record for the most downloaded day one game in PlayStation history in terms of both total players and peak online concurrency 55 Activision Blizzard acquired social gaming company King creator of casual game Candy Crush Saga for 5 9 billion in November 2015 5 In November 2015 Activision Blizzard announced the formation of Activision Blizzard Studios a film production arm that would produce films and television series based on Activision Blizzard s franchises 8 The outfit is co headed by producer Stacey Sher and former The Walt Disney Company executive Nick van Dyk 56 57 In June 2017 Activision Blizzard joined the Fortune 500 becoming the third gaming company in history to make the list after Atari and Electronic Arts 58 In its 2018 fiscal year earnings call to shareholders in February 2019 Kotick stated that while the company had seen a record year in revenue they would be laying off around 775 people or around 8 of their workforce in non management divisions de prioritizing initiatives that are not meeting expectations and reducing certain non development and administrative related costs across the business according to Kotick 59 Kotick stated that they plan to put more resources towards their development teams and focus on esports Battle net services and the publisher s core games which include Candy Crush Call of Duty Overwatch Warcraft Diablo and Hearthstone Prior to this Activision Blizzard and Bungie agreed to terminate their distribution deal with Destiny 2 as it was not bringing in expected revenue for Activision with Bungie otherwise retaining all rights to Destiny 59 This transaction allowed Activision Blizzard to report US 164 million as part of its 2018 fiscal year filings 60 The company announced that Daniel Alegre would replace Coddy Johnson as president of Activision Blizzard effective April 7 2020 with Johnson transitioning to special advisory role 61 During the second quarter of 2020 the company s net revenues from digital channels reached 1 44bn due to the growing demand for online games driven by COVID 19 lockdowns 62 By January 2021 the company s net value was estimated to be 72 billion based on its stock trading price due to the ongoing demand for video games from the COVID 19 pandemic 63 The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia acquired 14 9 million shares of Activision Blizzard valued at 1 4 billion in February 2021 64 In April 2021 Fernando Machado former Brazilian executive at Burger King joined the company as chief marketing officer CMO 65 The company also announced in April 2021 that Kotick will remain CEO through April 2023 through Kotick agreed to take a 50 cut of his pay equal to 875 000 Kotick will remain eligible to receive annual bonuses and while he agreed to reduce his target bonus by 50 as well he potentially can earn up to 200 of his base pay based on the company s performance 66 Workplace misconduct lawsuit and acquisition by Microsoft 2021 present Main articles California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard worker organization and Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft On July 20 2021 the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing DFEH filed a suit alleging sexual harassment employment discrimination and retaliation on the part of Activision Blizzard A second lawsuit was filed against the company by its shareholders asserting it falsified knowledge of these problems in their financial statements 67 though this suit was dismissed due to failure to meet thresholds for claims 68 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had also filed suit against Activision Blizzard from their own investigation of the workplace conditions but the company had settled the same day it was filed which included setting aside an 18 million relief fund for affected employees 69 Ultimately the DFEH and Activision Blizzard agreed to a 54 million settlement in December 2023 to cover pay and promotion inequities at the company both agreeing there was no substantial evidence of widespread harassment 70 Main article Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft On January 18 2022 Microsoft announced that it would be acquiring Activision Blizzard for 68 7 billion in an all cash deal or approximately 95 per share Activision Blizzard s stock price jumped nearly 40 that day in pre market trading The deal would make Microsoft the third largest gaming company in the world and the largest headquartered in the Americas behind Chinese company Tencent and the Japanese conglomerate Sony Activision Blizzard s shareholders approved of the acquisition near unanimously in April 2022 71 While the deal has been approved by several countries ahead of the planned October 18 2023 deal closure including the European Union and China both the United States Federal Trade Commission and the United Kingdom s Competition and Markets Authority have challenged the merger as anticompetitive and have initiated legal procedures in their respective countries To resolve these issues Microsoft agreed to give rights to cloud gaming of Activision Blizzard s games to Ubisoft which was cleared by regulators The acquisition was completed on October 13 2023 72 The last time Activision Blizzard reported their annual financial results for its shareholders before Microsoft acquired them was on February 6 2023 Activision Blizzard reported 7 54 billion in revenue and 1 52 billion in net income 73 As part of the acquisition deal Kotick announced his resignation as CEO the same day along with other high level executives though Kotick will remain onboard through the end of 2023 to help with the transition 74 Bobby Kotick departed Activision Blizzard on December 29 2023 75 GamesList of Activision video games List of Blizzard Entertainment games List of King gamesCorporate structureActivision BlizzardActivisionActivision Shanghai Studio Call of Duty series support studio Beenox Activision era Spider Man series Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled Call of Duty series support studio Demonware Call of Duty series support studio Digital Legends Entertainment High Moon Studios Darkwatch Activision era Transformers series Call of Duty series support studio Infinity Ward Call of Duty Modern Warfare sub series Radical Entertainment Prototype series several games in the Crash Bandicoot series Raven Software Heretic series Soldier of Fortune series Singularity Call of Duty Warzone Sledgehammer Games One of three main developers of the Call of Duty series Solid State Studios Call of Duty series support studio Toys for Bob Crash Bandicoot series Spyro series Skylanders series Call of Duty series support studio Treyarch Call of Duty Black Ops sub series Activision era Spider Man seriesBlizzard EntertainmentBlizzard Albany Blizzard Entertainment support studio several games in the Crash Bandicoot series several games in the Tony Hawk s series several games in the Skylanders series Blizzard Entertainment Publishing label and main development team of the Warcraft series StarCraft series Diablo series and Overwatch series The Lost Vikings and Heroes of the Storm Developed and maintains Battle net Proletariat Spellbreak Blizzard Entertainment support studioKingKing Publishing Mobile games developer publishing label and main development team of Candy Crush Saga seriesActivision Blizzard is divided into three key business segments 76 77 Activision Publishing which handles the development production and distribution of video games from its subsidiary studios It also houses the Call of Duty League Blizzard Entertainment which handles the development production and distribution of Blizzard s games It also maintains Battle net organizes BlizzCon and houses the company s esports activities including MLG and the Overwatch League King which handles the development and distribution of its mobile games There are also two non reporting segments within Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard Studios oversees the production of film and television entertainment based on the company s properties Activision Blizzard Distribution provides logistical support for Activision Blizzard s distribution within Europe Esports initiativesActivision Blizzard owns the Call of Duty and StarCraft franchises both of which have been popular as esports 6 78 On October 21 2015 Activision Blizzard announced the upcoming establishment of a new e sports division 7 Named Activision Blizzard Media Networks the division is led by sports executive Steve Bornstein and Major League Gaming MLG co founder Mike Sepso with assets from the acquisition of the now defunct IGN Pro League Bornstein was appointed the new division s chairman 6 78 On December 31 2015 it was reported that substantially all of Major League Gaming s assets would be acquired by Activision Blizzard 6 78 The New York Times reported that the acquisition was intended to bolster Activision Blizzard s push into e sports as well as its plan to develop an e sports cable channel 79 Reports indicated that MLG would be shuttered and that the majority of the purchase price would go towards paying off the company s debt 6 78 Activision Blizzard acquired MLG on January 4 2016 79 for 46 million 6 78 In November 2016 Blizzard Entertainment a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard announced the launch of Overwatch League 80 a professional video gaming league The league s first season began during the second half of 2017 with 12 teams 81 The league s structure is based on traditional sports structures including recruiting traditional sports executives as team owners such as Robert Kraft owner of the New England Patriots and Jeff Wilpon COO of the New York Mets 82 The inaugural Overwatch Grand Finals was played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in July 2018 and attracted 10 8 million viewers worldwide 83 The league hopes to have 18 teams competing during the second season in 2019 with the ultimate goal of 28 teams across the world 84 In 2018 Activision Blizzard signed a multi year deal with The Walt Disney Company to stream Overwatch League games on both ESPN and Disney XD cable channels 85 86 The company also secured an exclusive multi year deal with Google to stream all subsequent Activision Blizzard esports events including Call of Duty and Overwatch events through YouTube and to use Google s cloud services for its game hosting infrastructure this came after a prior two year deal with Twitch for the Overwatch League had concluded The deal with YouTube was estimated to be valued at US 160 million double what it had with Twitch 87 88 Call of Duty EndowmentMain article Call of Duty Endowment Since 2009 when Kotick launched Call of Duty Endowment CODE over 50 000 veterans have been placed in high quality jobs 89 In 2013 CODE started the Seal of Distinction program which recognizes non profit organizations that are successful in placing veterans in good jobs Winners receive a 30 000 grant to use in their veteran job placement activities 90 The goal of CODE is to help 100 000 US and UK veterans find high quality jobs by 2024 91 The endowment helps soldiers transition to civilian careers after their military service by funding nonprofit organizations and raising awareness of the value veterans bring to the workplace 92 Other legal disputesWorlds Inc Worlds Inc was issued several United States patents around 2009 related to System and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space which generally described a method of server client communications for multiplayer video games where players would communicate through avatars In early 2009 Worlds Inc stated its intent to challenge publishers and developers of MMOs naming Activision as one of its intended targets 93 Worlds Inc had already challenged NCSoft for its MMOs in 2008 The companies ultimately settled out of court by 2010 94 Worlds Inc launched its formal lawsuit against Activision Blizzard including both Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Publishing in March 2012 stating that Call of Duty and World of Warcraft infringed on their patents 14 13 Activision Publishing filed a separate patent infringement lawsuit in October 2013 asserting that Worlds Inc was using two Activision owned patents in its Worlds Player software 13 95 96 but this suit was dismissed with prejudice by June 2014 97 In Worlds Inc case against Activision the judge issued a summary judgement in Activision s favor as they had demonstrated that Worlds Inc had demonstrated the technologies of their patents in their client programs AlphaWorld and World Chat released before the 1995 priority date though this was related to filing irregularities that were subsequently corrected by the Patent Office 98 Activision did not challenge the updated patents through an inter partes review IPR and subsequently after a statutory one year waiting period Worlds Inc filed a subsequently lawsuit against Activision asserting Call of Duty Ghosts violated their resolved patents 99 Later Worlds Inc stated the intent to add Bungie to the lawsuit contending that Destiny also fell afoul of their patents Bungie subsequently filed three IPRs with the Patent Office for each of the three Worlds Inc patents at the core of the lawsuit While Bungie initially won its IPR ruling at the USPTO on appeal in September 2018 Worlds Inc won a ruling questioning whether Bungie had legal standing to file its IPRs 100 101 The new Worlds Inc case against Activision Blizzard was heard on October 3 2014 With Bungie s IPRs pending at the Patent Office the judge put the trial on hold pending the outcome of the IPRs Worlds Inc challenged the IPRs at the Patent Office as they did not include Activision as an interested party a requirement that would have been necessary given the publisher developer relationship between Activision and Bungie The Patent Office did not accept this argument and subsequently agreed with the Bungie IPRs that portions of Worlds Inc patents were invalid Worlds Inc appealed to the Federal Circuit Appeals Court challenging the validity of the IPRs due to the lack of Activision s involvement The Federal Circuit court ruled in favor of Worlds Inc in September 2018 invalidating the Patent Office s decision 102 Worlds Inc s case presently remains at the Patent Office stage which is re reviewing the IPRs in consideration of the Federal Circuit s ruling 103 The lawsuit was dismissed in 2021 when a US district court ruled that Worlds patents were abstract ideas that were not sufficiently transformative to be legally patentable 104 Infinity Ward In early 2010 Activision fired Vince Zampella and Jason West two of the founders of its studio Infinity Ward on the basis of breaches of contract and insubordination the move caused several other Infinity Ward staff to resign Zampella and West created a new studio Respawn Entertainment with help from Electronic Arts partner program hiring the majority of those that departed Infinity Ward in their wake 105 106 107 Zampella and West filed a lawsuit in April 2010 against Activision claiming unpaid royalties on the studio s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Activision filed a countersuit against the two accusing the pair of being self serving schemers 15 Activision later sought to add Electronic Arts to their suit discovering that Zampella and West had been in discussions with them while still working for Activision and further added claims against Zampella and West that the two had not returned all material related to Call of Duty while they were working at Respawn A separate lawsuit was filed against Activision in April 2010 by several current and former members of Infinity Ward on the same basis of lack of unpaid royalties 108 All parties came to an undisclosed settlement to end all suits by May 2012 Electronic Arts and Activision had settled separately on Activision s charges of poaching employees while the suits between Activision Zampella West and the Infinity Ward employee group were settled by the end of May 2012 All settlements were made for undisclosed amounts 109 See alsoLists of video game companies List of video game publishersPortals nbsp Video games nbsp Companies nbsp CaliforniaNotes Following the acquisition of King Activision Blizzard is sometimes referred to as ABK Activision Blizzard King References Bobby Kotick Breaks His Silence Embattled Activision CEO Addresses Toxic Workforce Claims as Microsoft Deal Hangs in Balance Variety May 31 2023 Activision Blizzard 2022 Annual Report U S Securities and Exchange Commission February 23 2023 Tarver Evan March 15 2016 Top 5 Mutual Fund Holders of Activision Blizzard ATVI FOCPX Investopedia Archived from the original on March 20 2016 Retrieved March 29 2016 a b Activision Blizzard Our Company activisionblizzard com Archived from the original on January 18 2016 Retrieved January 11 2016 a b Activision Blizzard to Buy King Digital Maker of Candy Crush The New York Times November 2 2015 Archived from the original on November 6 2015 Retrieved November 3 2015 a b c d e f Activision Blizzard beefs up e sports muscle CNET Archived from the original on January 3 2016 Retrieved January 4 2016 a b Morris Chris October 22 2015 Why Activision Blizzard just launched a new eSports division Fortune Archived from the original on November 10 2015 Retrieved November 13 2015 a b Goldfarb Andrew November 6 2015 Call of Duty Movie Skylander TV Show Headline New Activision Blizzard Film Studio IGN Archived from the original on November 6 2015 Retrieved November 6 2015 a b MW3 Breaks Black Ops Launch Record November 11 2011 Archived from the original on November 12 2011 Retrieved November 11 2011 a b Call of Duty Black Ops 3 selling significantly better than Advanced Warfare and Ghosts Archived April 8 2016 at the Wayback Machine By Samit Sarkar on November 11 2015 at 5 30p SamitSarkar a b Knight Shawn January 15 2016 Call of Duty Black Ops III was the best selling game of 2015 TechSpot Archived from the original on January 18 2016 Retrieved January 28 2016 Jordan Jon March 16 2018 Earnings report roundup Game industry winners and losers in Q4 2017 www gamasutra com Archived from the original on February 24 2020 Retrieved August 26 2018 a b c Activision Publishing Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Worlds Inc and Worlds Online Inc Activision Blizzard press release October 4 2013 Archived from the original on April 16 2016 Retrieved March 29 2016 a b Activision Blizzard sued for patent infringement of virtual worlds usage GamesIndustry biz April 6 2012 Archived from the original on February 19 2019 Retrieved February 19 2019 a b Reilly Jim April 9 2010 Activision Countersues Former Infinity Ward Execs IGN Archived from the original on May 15 2010 Retrieved May 21 2010 Allsup Maeve July 21 2021 Activision Blizzard Sued Over Frat Boy culture Harassment Bloomberg Law Archived from the original on August 2 2021 Retrieved July 22 2021 Grind Kirsten Needleman Sarah E September 20 2021 SEC Is Investigating Activision Blizzard Over Workplace Practices Disclosures The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on September 20 2021 Retrieved September 20 2021 Schiffer Zoe Webster Andrew July 27 2021 Activision Blizzard employees to walk out following sexual harassment lawsuit The Verge Archived from the original on July 28 2021 Retrieved July 27 2021 McWhertor Michael August 3 2021 Activision Blizzard loses T Mobile as sponsor for Overwatch Call of Duty esports leagues Polygon Archived from the original on August 3 2021 Retrieved November 19 2021 Amid harassment lawsuit advertisers pull back from Blizzard s Overwatch League Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved November 19 2021 D Anastasio Cecilia Activision Blizzard Employees Are Done With CEO Bobby Kotick Wired ISSN 1059 1028 Archived from the original on November 17 2021 Retrieved November 19 2021 Warren Tom October 13 2023 Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition Call of Duty now part of Xbox The Verge Retrieved October 13 2023 Patnaik Subrat Microsoft to buy Call of Duty maker for 68 7 bln in gaming push Reuters Archived from the original on January 18 2022 Retrieved January 18 2022 a b Beller Peter January 15 2009 Activision s Unlikely Hero Forbes Archived from the original on August 6 2017 Retrieved February 12 2019 Vivendi and Activision to Create Activision Blizzard World s Largest Most Profitable Pure Play Video Game Publisher Activision com December 2 2007 Archived from the original on February 7 2012 Retrieved January 6 2016 Sliwinski Alexander EU greenlights Activision Vivendi merger Archived from the original on April 20 2008 Retrieved May 3 2008 Thang Jimmy Activision Vivendi Games Merger Approved Stockholders support Activision Blizzard venture Archived from the original on August 1 2008 a b Vivendi and Activision Complete Transaction to Create Activision Blizzard Press release Activision Blizzard July 10 2009 Archived from the original on October 30 2023 Retrieved October 30 2023 Alexander Leigh July 8 2008 Activision Blizzard Merger Official Kotaku Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved January 15 2016 Thorsen Tor Sinclair Brendan May 5 2009 Vivendi CEO Activision Blizzard s new chairman GameSpot Archived from the original on July 17 2012 Retrieved August 27 2009 Alexander Leigh July 10 2008 Activision Blizzard Merger Finalized kotaku com Archived from the original on July 20 2018 Retrieved July 20 2018 a b Blizzard stay autonomous in Activision merger Sierra not so lucky Strategy Informer Archived from the original on July 29 2008 Saltzman Marc August 2 2008 Gaming merger leaves Ghostbusters in limbo Toronto Star Archived from the original on September 7 2008 Retrieved February 13 2009 Sinclair Brendan Brutal Legend Ghostbusters more dropped by Activision Archived from the original on April 7 2009 Noonan Keith April 20 2018 Activision Blizzard Aims to Breathe New Life Into This Classic Franchise The Motley Fool Archived from the original on March 6 2019 Retrieved March 2 2019 Klepek Patrick April 29 2010 Industry Shocker Developer Bungie Signs Deal With Activision G4tv com Archived from the original on January 12 2013 Retrieved April 30 2010 Kohler Chris April 29 2010 Bungie Activision Sign 10 Year Publishing Deal Wired Archived from the original on May 2 2010 Retrieved April 30 2010 Palmer Maija Bradshaw Tim June 30 2010 Computer games industry hits at tax rethink Financial Times Archived from the original on July 3 2010 Retrieved June 30 2010 Crecente Brian November 11 2011 Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Shatters All Sales Records Kotaku Archived from the original on November 13 2011 Retrieved November 11 2011 a b c Ewalt David July 29 2011 Bobby Kotick On Hatching Skylanders Spyro s Adventure Forbes Archived from the original on May 27 2015 Retrieved August 29 2015 Skylanders story polygon com April 16 2014 Archived from the original on September 1 2015 Retrieved August 29 2015 Takahashi Dean June 5 2012 With Skylanders Giants Activision could dominate toys and video games video and gallery VentureBeat Archived from the original on January 22 2016 Retrieved August 29 2015 Appell Adrienne Toy Industry Unveils Nominees for 2012 Toy of the Year TOTY Awards Announces Inductees into Toy Industry Hall of Fame Toy Industry Association Archived from the original on June 7 2012 Retrieved July 8 2017 a b Activision Blizzard Announces Transformative Purchase of Shares from Vivendi and New Capital Structure Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved July 25 2013 Seppala Timothy October 13 2013 Activision Blizzard completes buyback from Vivendi Universal in multi billion dollar deal Engadget Archived from the original on January 3 2016 Retrieved August 29 2015 Makuch Eddie October 12 2013 Activision Blizzard completes buyback from Vivendi GameSpot Archived from the original on October 15 2013 Retrieved October 15 2013 Vivendi to sell 41 5 million Activision Blizzard shares Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved July 6 2014 Hussain Tamoor January 15 2016 Vivendi Sells Remaining Activision Blizzard Stake to Unknown Buyer Archived from the original on October 2 2017 Retrieved January 23 2018 a b Kain Erik September 10 2014 Destiny Crosses 500 Million On Day One Biggest New Video Game Launch Ever Forbes Archived from the original on September 10 2014 Retrieved August 29 2015 Chmielewski Dawn December 10 2013 Challenge for Activision CEO capitalizing on next gen game consoles Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on October 24 2015 Retrieved August 29 2015 The Top 25 Public Companies Generated 54 1Bn Game Revenues in 2014 Up 10 4 Year on Year NewZoo April 20 2015 Archived from the original on May 22 2015 Retrieved May 22 2015 Activision Blizzard Annual Report 2013 PDF Archived PDF from the original on July 14 2014 Takahashi Dean August 27 2015 Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard joins the S amp P 500 VentureBeat Archived from the original on September 5 2015 Retrieved October 23 2015 Yin Poole Wesley June 3 2015 Skylanders SuperChargers adds vehicles to the list Eurogamer Archived from the original on July 6 2015 Retrieved June 3 2015 Parfitt Ben September 18 2015 Destiny The Taken King claims PSN s records MCV UK Archived from the original on October 22 2015 Retrieved October 23 2015 Vincent James January 13 2016 Activision Blizzard recruits ex Tarantino producer to turn its video games into films The Verge Archived from the original on December 9 2018 Retrieved December 19 2018 Jackson Jasper April 5 2017 Could the Call of Duty franchise be the next Marvel The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Archived from the original on December 9 2018 Retrieved December 19 2018 Activision Blizzard Aims for the Big Leagues Archived from the original on January 25 2018 Retrieved January 23 2018 a b Axon Samuel February 12 2019 Activision Blizzard lays off 775 people after record results in 2018 Ars Technica Archived from the original on February 12 2019 Retrieved February 12 2019 Bailey Dustin March 1 2019 Activision reports 164 million in revenue from handing Destiny back to Bungie PCGamesN Archived from the original on March 2 2019 Retrieved March 2 2019 Makuch Eddie March 11 2020 Activision Blizzard Has A New President Here s How Much Money He Makes GameSpot Archived from the original on July 26 2020 Retrieved March 11 2020 Lockdown and loaded virus triggers video game boost BBC News May 6 2020 Archived from the original on July 9 2020 Retrieved May 6 2020 Taylor Mollie January 21 2021 Activision Blizzard is currently valued at 72 billion PC Gamer Archived from the original on January 21 2021 Retrieved January 21 2021 Kerr Chris February 18 2021 Saudi investment fund acquires shares in Activision Blizzard Take Two and EA Gamasutra Archived from the original on February 18 2021 Retrieved February 18 2021 Fernando Machado join Activision Blizzard as CMO Ad Age April 2 2021 Archived from the original on October 9 2021 Retrieved October 9 2021 Partis Danielle April 29 2021 Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick takes 50 pay cut GamesIndustry biz Archived from the original on January 21 2022 Retrieved April 29 2021 Orland Kyle August 3 2021 Shareholders sue Activision Blizzard for withholding harassment info Ars Technica Archived from the original on August 3 2021 Retrieved August 3 2021 Allsup Maeve April 20 2022 Activision Gets Investor Suit Over Sex Harassment Probes Tossed Bloomberg Law Retrieved April 20 2022 Robertson Adi September 27 2021 US employment watchdog sues Activision Blizzard over discrimination claims The Verge Archived from the original on September 27 2021 Retrieved September 27 2021 Sorkin Andrew Ross Hirsch Lauren December 15 2023 California Drops Sexual Harassment Suit in 54 Million Settlement With Activision The New York Times Retrieved December 15 2023 Activision Blizzard shareholders approve 68 7 bln Microsoft deal Reuters April 28 2022 Retrieved April 29 2022 Ivan Tom October 13 2023 Microsoft has officially completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard Video Games Chronicle Retrieved October 13 2023 Activision Blizzard Announces Fourth Quarter and 2022 Financial Results Yahoo Finance February 6 2023 Retrieved December 30 2023 Makuch Eddie October 13 2023 Microsoft Officially Acquires Activision Nearly Two Years Later Bobby Kotick Resigns GameSpot Retrieved October 13 2023 Spangler Todd December 20 2023 Microsoft Sets New Activision Blizzard Management Structure as Bobby Kotick Confirms Exit Date Variety Retrieved December 30 2023 2017 Annual Report Activision Blizzard pp 2 3 Archived from the original on July 30 2018 Retrieved July 20 2018 About Our Company Our Operating Units Activision Blizzard Archived from the original on January 18 2022 Retrieved January 18 2022 a b c d e Walton Mark January 4 2016 Report Major League Gaming shuttered after 46 million Activision buyout Ars Technica Archived from the original on January 4 2016 Retrieved January 4 2016 a b Wingfield Nick January 4 2016 Activision Buys Major League Gaming to Broaden Role in E Sports The New York Times Archived from the original on January 14 2016 Retrieved January 5 2016 Blizzard to launch pro sports league for Overwatch USA TODAY Archived from the original on September 14 2017 Retrieved December 21 2018 Blizzard to launch pro sports league for Overwatch USA TODAY Archived from the original on September 14 2017 Retrieved January 6 2019 Song Kelly July 16 2017 Activision Blizzard is building a professional esports league www cnbc com Archived from the original on January 6 2019 Retrieved January 6 2019 Makuch Eddie August 8 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals Reached Nearly 11 Million Viewers GameSpot Archived from the original on January 6 2019 Retrieved January 6 2019 Overwatch League aims to get teams to their home cities by 2020 sources said ESPN com June 6 2018 Archived from the original on January 6 2019 Retrieved January 6 2019 Seitz Patrick July 11 2018 Activision Signs Esports Broadcast Deal With Disney For Overwatch League Investor s Business Daily Archived from the original on January 6 2019 Retrieved January 6 2019 Gutierrez Carlos M Jr March 27 2017 Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick on Inspiring Play Competition and Community Huffington Post Archived from the original on October 6 2017 Retrieved January 6 2019 Spangler Todd January 24 2020 YouTube Scores Exclusive Streaming for Activision Blizzard s E Sports Including Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues Variety Archived from the original on May 26 2020 Retrieved January 24 2020 Stern Adam February 16 2020 Sources YouTube s Deal With Activision Blizzard Valued At 160M The Esports Observer Archived from the original on February 16 2020 Retrieved February 16 2020 Fogel Stefanie October 15 2018 Call of Duty Endowment Finds Jobs For 50 000 Veterans Variety Archived from the original on February 16 2019 Retrieved April 10 2019 Gutierrez Carlos M Jr March 27 2017 Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick on Inspiring Play Competition and Communit Huffington Post Archived from the original on October 6 2017 Retrieved January 20 2019 Fogel Stefanie October 15 2018 Call of Duty Endowment Finds Jobs For 50 000 Veterans Variety com Archived from the original on February 16 2019 Retrieved January 20 2019 Call of Duty Endowment and U S Army create Code Bowl esports event for armed forces VentureBeat December 5 2019 Archived from the original on May 31 2020 Retrieved May 27 2020 Krangel Eric March 11 2009 Worlds com CEO We re Absolutely Going To Sue Second Life And World Of Warcraft Business Insider Archived from the original on April 4 2016 Retrieved March 29 2016 Bayer Rudi April 27 2010 Worlds com vs NCsoft lawsuit settled Joystiq Archived from the original on February 10 2015 Retrieved February 18 2019 Suszek Mike October 7 2013 Activision files virtual worlds patent countersuit against Worlds Inc Engadget Archived from the original on April 26 2016 Retrieved March 29 2016 Corriea Alexa Ray October 7 2013 Activision files software patent infringement suit against Worlds Inc Polygon Archived from the original on February 20 2019 Retrieved February 19 2019 Activision Publishing Lawsuit Against Worlds Inc Worlds Online Dismissed With Prejudice Worlds Inc Archived from the original on February 19 2019 Retrieved February 19 2019 via Yahoo Finance Marketwired Harper Elizaabeth March 19 2014 Blizzard scores a victory against patent troll Worlds Inc Engadget Archived from the original on April 26 2016 Retrieved March 29 2016 Roberts Jeff March 14 2014 World of Warcraft beats trolls in fight over 1996 virtual worlds patent Gigaom Archived from the original on April 5 2016 Retrieved March 29 2016 Worlds Wins Full Reversal of PTAB Invalidation Ruling from U S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit CAFC Globe Newswire Press release September 10 2018 Archived from the original on January 18 2022 Retrieved January 18 2022 Decker Susan September 7 2018 Worlds Wins Appeals Court Ruling in Activision Patent Fight Bloomberg Law Archived from the original on January 18 2022 Retrieved January 18 2022 Worlds Inc v Bungie Inc Patent Arcade patentarcade com Archived from the original on February 19 2019 Retrieved February 19 2019 USPTO Review Validates 6 Worlds Inc Patent Claims for Multi Player Online Gaming Technology Press release Worlds Inc December 1 2016 Archived from the original on February 20 2019 Retrieved February 19 2019 via GlobeNewswire News Room Boudreau Ian May 5 2021 After nine years judge throws out WoW patent lawsuit PC Games N Archived from the original on January 18 2022 Retrieved January 18 2022 Kollar Phil March 1 2010 UPDATE Infinity Ward Vs Activision GameInformer Archived from the original on May 8 2010 Retrieved May 21 2010 Walker Richard March 4 2010 Future Modern Warfare Releases Could Be Vetoed By West and Zampella Xbox360Achievements Archived from the original on June 4 2010 Retrieved May 21 2010 Who Remains At Infinity Ward www cynicalsmirk com Archived from the original on December 30 2020 Retrieved January 23 2022 Ryckert Dan April 27 2010 Activision Sued By New Infinity Ward Employee Group GameInformer Archived from the original on June 4 2010 Retrieved May 21 2010 McWhertor Michael May 31 2012 Settlement reached in Call of Duty s billion dollar West v Activision lawsuit Polygon Archived from the original on February 20 2019 Retrieved February 19 2019 External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Activision Blizzard Official website Historical business data for Activision Blizzard SEC filings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Activision Blizzard amp oldid 1201970150, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.