Founded in 1979, a Fortune 500 company, a publicly traded company, a well-known game developer/publisher and distributor, specializing in computer game and video game software development, and its Call of Duty/World of Warcraft/Warcraft/StarCraft games are well-known
Activision, Inc. was founded in 1979. Before Activision was founded, video games were published directly through game design companies, such as Atari 2600. This kind of sales method has caused a lot of problems for game developers, who don't get the rewards that come with blockbuster games. After seeing the millions of dollars that those sellers were making into their pockets, some programmers decided to set up their own game publishing companies, and in this context, Activision, the world's first third-party game publisher, was born.
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is an American game developer, publisher, and distributor that was renamed in 2008 after the merger of Vivendi Games, by American video game publisher Activision, Inc. Currently, Activision Blizzard is the world's largest game developer and publisher.
Activision Blizzard's primary business continues the Activision model. Many Chinese gamers know Activision since the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, a subsidiary of the Vivendi Group. In fact, before the merger with Vivendi Games, Activision was the world's second-largest third-party video game publisher after EA, and the company developed major titles such as the Call of Duty series and the Guitar Hero series.
Vivendi Games' business had failed to meet the requirements of the French giant Vivendi S.A. before the merger. Vivendi Games is a subsidiary of Vivendi Group that reorganized its game business, and has departments such as Xueleshan Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment, which are responsible for their respective businesses. However, the business of Xueleshan has been shrinking year by year, and Blizzard itself is a well-known subsidiary.
On July 26, 2013, Activision Blizzard announced the company's independence.
Blizzard Entertainment's record revenue and monthly activity in 2016 were driven by World of Warcraft content and Overwatch's holiday-themed events. In 2017, Activision Blizzard expects revenue of $6 billion, and Blizzard Entertainment expects $2.428 billion, accounting for 39%.
