Blizzard entertainment and Activision to merge


Recommended Posts

SANTA MONICA, Calif. & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Vivendi (Euronext Paris: VIV) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business -- which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s? World of Warcraft?, the world’s #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise -- with Activision, creating the world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI.

Activision, one of the world’s leading independent publishers of interactive entertainment, is best known for its top-selling franchises, including Guitar Hero?, Call of Duty? and the Tony Hawk series, as well as Spider-Man™, X-Men™, Shrek?, James Bond™ and TRANSFORMERS™. Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, has projected calendar 2007 revenues of $1.1 billion, operating margins of over 40% and approximately $520 million of operating profit. Blizzard owns the #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise, World of Warcraft, which currently has over 9.3 million subscribers worldwide. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, Warcraft?, StarCraft? and Diablo? games account for four of the top-five best-selling PC game titles of all time. Vivendi Games also owns popular franchises, including Crash Bandicoot™ and Spyro™. Pro forma for calendar 2007, Activision Blizzard expects to generate approximately 70% of its revenues from owned franchises. As a result of the business combination, Activision Blizzard expects to have the most diversified and broadest portfolio of interactive entertainment assets in its industry, positioning the combined company to capitalize on the continued worldwide growth in interactive entertainment.

Source: Businesswire

Well, this can't be good.

The companies behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft are merging in a deal which could shake up the global video games industry. Activision and Blizzard have said they will form "the world's most profitable games business" in a deal worth $18.8bn (?9.15bn).

US-based Activision also makes hit console games such as the Tony Hawk series and Guitar Hero.

Nine million people pay a monthly subscription to play World of Warcraft.

I dunno why you'd think that. Activision puts out some pretty great games. I'm actually less a fan of Blizzard than Activision, but only because I'm just not really interested in the games they create, not because I think they aren't a great quality developer.

-Spenser

I don't like this one bit. It's just one more step towards giant conglomerate companies monopolizing the gaming market. Too many smaller companies and games are going under because they don't have the money and resources to compete with companies like this. In the long run it only stifles competition and innovation.

I don't like this one bit. It's just one more step towards giant conglomerate companies monopolizing the gaming market. Too many smaller companies and games are going under because they don't have the money and resources to compete with companies like this. In the long run it only stifles competition and innovation.

I agree, it's getting tougher and tougher for companies to compete. It doesn't just take a good game anymore, but a massive marketing engine backing it, for example.

After reading that FAQ all I get out of it is, "Everything will stay the same".

What's the point?

What WILL it change?

Money.. Just means the money will go to 1 central pot. And activision can put their name on the game. Also Activision is HUGE as far as Publishing goes. Just means they can now Publish Blizzards' games.

lol World of Call of Duty anyone?

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Oh, of course not. The real "victims" are the people who snipe kids in the head, have killed more journalist than all the worlds wars combined, do double tap strikes on medical personnel, claim history started on October 7th, have a $700 million dollar annual Hasbara budget and pay influencers $7k a post to spout exactly this kind of propaganda. How dare you question the most moral army in the world. Victimhood belongs to these genocidal freaks alone. Anyone who denies that is literally Hitler. If you're going to support a terrorist state, the least you could do is come up with better talking points.
    • Gears of War: E-Day brings 12-player co-op, smoother traversal mechanics, and more by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Right as the Xbox Games Showcase came to an end today, The Gears of War developer The Coalition took over to show off its next project: E-Day. This prequel project was announced back in 2024, but now we have a lot more details about its campaign, new gameplay mechanics, and even a release date. The studio says this is the first time it has managed to get the time to build the entire game in a new engine, as it had worked non-stop on new titles for years while porting classic code and assets. With Unreal Engine 5 now powering Gears of War: E-Day, The Coalition says it started completely anew, with all assets, animations, environments, and others being built from scratch. The campaign will take place across three days in the city of Kalona. The story will follow the events through the eyes of Bravo Squad. This is made up of the returning classic duo Marcus and Dom, as well as the new characters Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes. Watch the trailer below to see Marcus in action without his iconic armor and gear, just as the Locust invasion kicks off. The story will draw on classic Gears novels like Aspho Fields as well, with the studio even collaborating with author Karen Traviss. "That continuity is what makes the destruction land," says the studio. "In E-Day, you watch a living city torn apart—homes still lit, meals half-finished—while people abandon their cars and run for cover. Small details—a child’s toy, an uneaten dinner—make the loss real as everyday places collapse under the Locust assault." The movement system is getting a big overhaul here. Players will be able to slide while running, jump across gaps, climb head-height covers, and even crawl on the ground to avoid fire from enemies. As for the returning horde mode, The Coalition teased a new 12-player PvE mode. This will involve three squads of Gears going up against the incoming Locusts in larger city maps than usual. The studio says that it is going to reimagine the classic formula just as co-op games are going through a resurgence. Multiplayer was touched on today too, where Versus is coming back touting four versus four Gears PVP action set across Kalona maps. More details about multiplayer will be revealed later. Open beta weekends are kicking off this August for fans wanting to jump in early too. Gears of War: E-Day is releasing on Xbox Series X|S and PC on October 6 with pre-orders available now. It will also be a part of Xbox Game Pass on day one. Microsoft has confirmed this as an Xbox platform exclusive, as there are no plans to bring it to PlayStation or Switch.
    • Microsoft announces the return of Xbox exclusives with Gears of War and Clockwork Revolution by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Microsoft had plenty of announcements to make today at the Xbox Games Showcase celebrating 25 years of the gaming brand. Now, under the leadership of the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Xbox games are going back to their original release methods. She appeared in the livestream itself to announce the return of Xbox console exclusives. This means two major upcoming games from first-party studios won't be coming to PlayStation or Nintendo consoles: Gears of War: E-Day from The Coalition and Clockwork Revolution from InExile. Both titles will only be coming out on Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PCs, ditching any plans they had for PlayStation. "These are not timed exclusives," confirmed Microsoft. "We’re committed to investing in and growing XBOX both on console and beyond." The company confirmed that any already announced Xbox titles for PlayStation, under previous leadership, will continue to arrive for the rival platform. This means games like the new Halo remake, Forza Horizon 6, Fable, and State of Decay 3 will still be available on PlayStation, either at launch or later. It sounds like any new projects announced by the company will avoid other consoles in the same way. Microsoft first opened the floodgates by bringing titles like Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Pentiment to PlayStation and Nintendo consoles back in 2024. Since then, almost every new game release from Xbox Game Studios has arrived for rival consoles alongside Xbox and PC. This decision follows Sony's plans to ditch its own multiplatform releases too. Outside of multiplatform live service titles, the PlayStation maker is even abandoning its PC porting endeavors that started years ago.
    • I'm missing the beginning part of this equation... but for the sake of the convo, you don't get to take a $250(?) set of normally priced RAM, jack it up to over $500/600/800 just because of a market shift, then lower it back down to more than what it was originally and call that a "sale". Not the author of this post... the manufacturer/seller.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
    • Dedicated
      Conjor earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Week One Done
      Windows Guy earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Dedicated
      Mark Spruce earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Collaborator
      conkir earned a badge
      Collaborator
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      479
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      243
    3. 3
      Steven P.
      72
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      66
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!