[Venvasion]

Activision Blizzard confirms that the buyout of Candy Crush developer King is now complete, with CEO Bobby Kotick suggesting it has made the ‘largest game network in the world’.

It’s no secret that Activision is running some of the biggest gaming franchises in the world. Rather than resting on the somewhat sizeable laurels ofCall of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Destiny, the publisher instead decided to buy out King, the developer of mobile free-to-play hit Candy Crush Saga, for a huge $5.9 billion. Now, it’s been made apparent that this purchase has now been finalized. Thats alot of money right?
The confirmation of the buyout was revealed by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in a statement, proclaiming that Activision now held on to the “largest game network in the world.” It has been estimated that the acquisition will allow the publisher to reach approximately 500 million users overall.


However, the overall strategy is still unclear. Kotick suggested that the developer could take on some of the other hugely popular franchises that sit under the publisher’s wing. “We see great opportunities to create new ways for audiences to experience their favorite franchises,” said Kotick, citing both World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. Kotick hinted towards branching out these series across multiple devices, including “mobile devices, consoles, and personal computers.”

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[katos]

[Sir Twisted]

Very nice information! Thank you for sharing with us! :)

[Naiwen]

I love the Candy Crush Saga!

[katos]

It could be a smart move for Activision Blizzard.
At the end of the day, Candy Crush generates a large amount of revenue in terms of in-app purchases, and the ad revenue.

It would also allow them to push the user count up, so they could use their app API's to provide advertising for themselves which would allow them to push subscription games such as their own World Of Warcraft.

[Venvasion]

Exactly Katos! This could turn out to be a great investment, but in my opinion 5.6 billion is too much and they took a big risk with this.

[katos]

Exactly Katos! This could turn out to be a great investment, but in my opinion 5.6 billion is too much and they took a big risk with this.

Indeed, the cost was ridiculous, but due to the market reach of Candy Crush, and the user account, the value is huge.
However, I do believe that for Activision Blizzard, this was a very bold, risky move.
Or... As my friend puts it so elegantly:

[Golddisk]

It's a good move that helps give Activision a large chunk of the mobile market share which they otherwise would not have had.