Activision Blizzard is a game developer and publisher that was completely bought out by Microsoft for about $68.7 billion on October 13, 2023. It is now currently a subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming alongside Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax Media.
History[]
Activision was founded in August 1979 by disgruntled programmers of the Atari 2600.[1] On July 10, 2008, Activision merged with Blizzard, the developer of the Warcraft and StarCraft series, to form the merged company.[2] On February 23, 2016, Activision Blizzard completed its acquisition of King, the developer of Candy Crush Saga, for $5.9 billion to become the largest game network in the world with over 500 million users.[3]
In 2021, Activision Blizzard lost about 28 percent ($25 billion) of its market value in over six months, making it vulnerable to a takeover.[4] Some of the loss in value was attributed to a workplace discrimination scandal and lawsuit.[5] Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick blamed the company's difficulties on delays or underperformance of its anticipated game sequels.[6]
On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard.[7][8] The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attempted to challenge Microsoft's acquisition of the company out of concern that competition would be stifled. After Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in federal court that the company's game series, such as Call of Duty, would not be withheld from competing platforms, the acquisition was cleared by federal judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on July 10, 2023.[9] The FTC immediately filed an appeal to block the merger, but the motion was denied in court.[10] Except later that day, it was re-accepted because the judges woke up from the bench and realized their decisive mistake.
On October 13, 2023, Microsoft was finally formally allowed to buy out the company in it's entirety as a subsidiary and transferred it to their new company division, Microsoft Gaming soon afterwards.
Game franchises[]
- Call of Duty
- Candy Crush Saga
- Diablo
- Overwatch
- StarCraft
- Warcraft
References[]
- ↑ The History Of Activision by Jeffrey Fleming, Gamasutra. 2007-07-30.
- ↑ Activision Blizzard Merger Finalized by Leigh Alexander, Kotaku. 2008-07-10.
- ↑ Activision Blizzard Completes King Acquisition Becomes the Largest Game Network in the World with over 500 Million Users, Activision Blizzard. 2016-02-23.
- ↑ Will Activision Blizzard Stock Continue To See Lower Levels?, Forbes. 2021-11-18.
- ↑ Activision Blizzard has lost nearly $8 billion in market value amid the growing fallout from a workplace discrimination lawsuit by Matthew Fox, Business Insider. 2021-07-27.
- ↑ Bobby Kotick claims Overwatch 2, Diablo 4 caused Activision Blizzard stock drop by Leah J. Williams, GamesHub. 2022-01-20.
- ↑ Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone, across every device, Microsoft Corporation. 2022-01-18.
- ↑ Microsoft to Buy Activision Blizzard in All-Cash Deal Valued at $75 Billion by Cara Lombardo, Kirsten Grind and Aaron Tilley, The Wall Street Journal. 2022-01-18.
- ↑ Microsoft can close its Activision merger, federal judge rules by Brian Fung, CNN Business. 2023-07-11.
- ↑ FTC's Appeal Denied as Microsoft Weighs Potential CMA Solution for Activision Blizzard Merger by Adam Bankhurst, IGN. 2023-07-13.
External links[]
- Activision Blizzard official website
- Activision Blizzard at Wikipedia
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