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Blizzard & Activision do the $18bn dance


Wizard

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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.

 

'High-growth industry'

 

Blizzard is the biggest player in online gaming and Warcraft is the global market leader of what are known as massively multi-player online role-playing games, or MMORPGs.

 

It is currently owned by the French media group Vivendi.

 

As part of the merger plan, Blizzard will invest $2bn in the new company, while Activision is putting up $1bn.

 

The merged business will be called Activision Blizzard and its chief executive will be Activision's current CEO Bobby Kotick. Vivendi will be the biggest shareholder in the group.

 

Jean-Bernard Levy, Vivendi chief executive, said: "This alliance is a major strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to extend our presence in the entertainment sector.

 

"By combining Vivendi's games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide leader in a high-growth industry."

 

...

 

BBC News

 

 

Edit: To Emulamers, thanks for supporting me in this moment of awesomeness. Love you guys!

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Well Activision is also a publisher of games. Gotta remember that. Blizzard just makes decent games and self publishes their titles. So put two and two together and we get Blizzactivisionard.

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