Activision
Blizzard, the American developer behind hit video game franchises World of
Warcraft and Call of Duty, has bought Candy Crush Saga creator King Digital
Entertainment for $5.9bn (£3.8bn).
The
deal will position Activision, which has previously focused on developing games
for PCs and consoles, as a global leader in mobile gaming – the largest and
fastest-growing area of interactive entertainment, that is expected to generate
over $36bn in revenue by the end of 2015.
"Mobile
gaming is the largest and fastest-growing opportunity for interactive
entertainment and we will have one of the world's most successful mobile game
companies and its talented teams providing great content to new customers, in
new geographies throughout the world," said Bobby Kotick, chief executive
of Activision Blizzard.
"King
has a truly fantastic management team and over 1,600 incredibly talented
employees and we are excited to welcome them into the Activision Blizzard
family."
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Candy
Crush Saga is one of the most successful mobile games in the world, with almost
100m daily players, but its British creator, King Digital Entertainment, has
been under growing pressure to branch out from its fail-safe "puzzle
game" format.
Despite
a disastrous IPO in March 2014, which saw the company's share price drop 15pc
on its first day, and its decision to issue a $150m dividend the following August,
King has managed to turn its fortunes around, reporting full-year revenue
growth of 20 per cent in February 2015.
This
was largely thanks to the success of Candy Crush Soda Saga – the latest game in
the Candy Crush franchise – which gave the company an unexpected boost,
returning the franchise to sequential growth in daily active users.
Both
Candy Crush Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga were in the top 5 grossing games on
both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in the US for the third quarter
2015, thanks to their use of in-app purchases, according to independent app
analytics company App Annie.
Commenting
on the acquisition by Activision, Riccardo Zacconi, chief executive of King,
said it would position the company well for the next phase of its evolution.
"Since
2003, we have built one of the largest player networks on mobile and Facebook,
with 474m monthly active users in the third quarter 2015, and our talented team
has created some of the most successful mobile game franchises," he said.
"We
will combine our expertise in mobile and free-to-play with Activision
Blizzard’s world-class brands and proven track record of building and
sustaining the most successful franchises, to bring the best games in the world
to millions of players worldwide."
According
to Fabien Nicolas, vice president of marketing communications and community at
App Annie, the acquisition highlights the importance of mobile as a key factor
of growth for publishers in today’s gaming market.
It
will also help Activision to expand its global reach. Brands like Call of Duty,
World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Guitar Hero tend to appeal to male hobbyists
and core gamers between the ages of 13 and 35, whereas King has a strong and
vibrant community of female players from 18 to over 50.
"Activision
has taken in the past a more reserved approach to mobile, releasing only a
handful of titles, like Hearthstone, and mainly using mobile apps as side
experiences to their PC and console games. In the meantime, global competitors
such as EA or Tencent have embraced this new sector," he said.
"However,
this acquisition clearly demonstrates a new commitment to mobile for Activision
as well as the will to diversify their IP portfolio to a more global female
audience."
-Telegraph
