Activision

Activision Publishing, Inc.

Santa Monica headquarters
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video game industry
Founded	October 1, 1979; 39 years ago (1979-10-01)
Founders	David Crane Alan Miller Bob Whitehead
Headquarters	Santa Monica, California , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Rob Kostich (president)[1]
Products	List of Activision video games
Number of employees	4000
Parent	Activision Blizzard
Subsidiaries	Beachhead Studios Beenox Demonware High Moon Studios Infinity Ward Radical Entertainment Raven Software Sierra Sledgehammer Games Toys for Bob Treyarch Vicarious Visions
Website	activision.com
Footnotes / references [2][3]

Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica. The company was founded in October 1979 by former Atari employees as the first independent video game developer.

As of January 2017, Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world and was the top publisher for 2016 in the United States.^[4] Its parent company is Activision Blizzard, formed from the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games on July 9, 2008,^[5] an entity which became a completely independent company on July 25, 2013 when Activision Blizzard purchased the remaining shares from then majority owner Vivendi.^[6] Its CEO was Eric Hirshberg until March 2018.^[7][8]

Contents

• 
  1 History
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 New Activision
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Merger with Vivendi
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Post-merger developments
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Acquisitions and partnerships
  


• 
  3 Studios
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Current
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 Defunct
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Sold
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Notable games published
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 1980s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 1990s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.3 2000s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.4 2010s
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 See also
  


• 
  6 Notes
  


• 
  7 References
  


• 
  8 External links
  

History

Before Activision, third-party developers did not exist.^[9] Software for video game consoles were published exclusively by makers of the systems for which the games were designed.^[10] For example, Atari was the only publisher of games for the Atari 2600. This was particularly galling to the developers, as they received neither financial rewards nor credit for games that sold well.^[11]

Atari programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead met with Atari CEO Ray Kassar in May 1979 to demand that the company treat developers as record labels treated musicians, with royalties and their names on game boxes. Kaplan, who called the others "the best designers for the [2600] in the world", recalled that Kassar called the four men "towel designers" and claimed that "anybody can do a cartridge." Crane, Miller and Whitehead left Atari and founded Activision on October 1, 1979, with Kaplan joining them shortly after.^[12][13] David Crane has said the name "Activision" was based on Jim Levy's idea to combine 'active' and 'television'. The original name proposed for the company was VSync, Inc. and that the company was originally incorporated as Computer Arts, Inc.^[14]

Unlike Atari, the company credited and promoted game creators along with the games themselves. The steps taken for this included devoting a page to the developer in their instruction manuals^[15][16][17] and challenging players to send in a high score (usually as a photograph, but letters were acceptable) in order to receive an embroidered patch.^[18][19][20] These approaches helped the newly formed company attract experienced talent. In recognition of this step, Kaplan, Levy, Miller, and Whitehead received the Game Developers Choice "First Penguin" award in 2003.

The departure of the four programmers, whose titles made up more than half of Atari's cartridge sales at the time,^[14] caused legal action between the two companies not settled until 1982.

As the market for game consoles started to decline, Activision branched out, producing game titles for home computers and acquiring smaller publishers.

In 1982, Activision released Pitfall! on the Atari 2600. Designed and developed by David Crane, it was a huge success. Many clones of the game were introduced, including stand-up arcade games.

By 1983 Danny Goodman stated in Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games, "I doubt that there is an active VCS owner who doesn't have at least one Activision cartridge in his library".^[21]

On June 13, 1986, Activision purchased struggling text adventure pioneer Infocom. Jim Levy was a big fan of Infocom's titles and wanted the company to remain solvent. About six months after the "InfoWedding", Bruce Davis took over as CEO of Activision. Davis was against the merger from the start and was heavy-handed in its management. Eventually in 1989, after several years of losses, Activision closed down the Infocom studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts, extending to only 11 of the 26 employees an offer to relocate to Activision's Silicon Valley headquarters. Five of them accepted this offer.^[22]

In 1988, Activision began involvement in software besides video games, such as business applications. As a result, Activision changed its corporate name to Mediagenic to better represent all of its activities.^[23][24]

Mediagenic consisted of four groups:

• 
  Activision: video game publisher for various platforms, notably the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Master System, the Atari 7800, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Amiga
  


• 
  Infocom: shut down and merged into Activision in May 1989


• 
  Gamestar: initially an independent company but purchased by Activision in 1986. Specialized in sports video games


• 
  Ten point O: business application software^[25]
  

New Activision

Following a multi-million judgment on damages in a patent infringement suit, wherein infringement had been determined many years prior during the Levy era, a financially weakened Mediagenic was taken over by an investor group led by Robert Kotick.^{[citation needed]} Purchasing the company with his business associates, Kotick "fired all 200 employees and implemented a bankruptcy reorganization plan", according to Jeff Sengstack of NewMedia. The goal was to capitalize on Activision's lucrative back catalog of licenses, chief among them Zork.^[26] In the reorganization, Mediagenic merged with The Disc Company with Mediagenic being the surviving company. Mediagenic, through Activision, continued to publish games for PCs and video game consoles, but stopped making strategic acquisitions. After emerging from bankruptcy, Mediagenic officially changed its corporate name back to Activision in December 1992 and became a Delaware Corporation, as it was previously a California Corporation. At that point, Activision moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Santa Monica in Southern California and from then on concentrated on video gaming.

In 1991, Activision packaged 20 of Infocom's past games into a CD-ROM collection called The Lost Treasures of Infocom, without the feelies Infocom was famous for. The success of this compilation led to the 1992 release of 11 more Infocom titles in The Lost Treasures of Infocom II.

Activision published the first-person perspective MechWarrior in 1989, based on FASA's pen-and-pencil game BattleTech. A sequel, MechWarrior 2, was released in 1995 after two years of delays and internal struggles, prompting FASA not to renew their licensing deal with Activision. To counter, Activision released several more games bearing the MechWarrior 2 name, which did not violate their licensing agreement. These included NetMech, MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bears Legacy, and MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries. The entire MechWarrior 2 game series accounted for more than US$70 million in sales.^[27]

Activision procured the license to another pen-and-paper-based war game, Heavy Gear, in 1997. The video game version was well received by critics, with an 81.46% average rating on GameRankings and being considered the best game of the genre at the time by GameSpot. The Mechwarrior 2 engine was also used in other Activision games, including 1997's Interstate '76 and finally 1998's Battlezone.^[27]

In June 2000, Activision Holdings was created as a holding company to manage more effectively Activision and its subsidiaries.^[28] Immediately after, Activision changed its corporation name from "Activision Inc" to "Activision Publishing", while Activision Holdings took Activision's former corporate name of Activision Inc.^[28]

Merger with Vivendi

In December 2007, it was announced that Activision would merge with Vivendi Games, which owned fellow games developer and publisher Blizzard, and the merger would close in July 2008. The new company was called Activision Blizzard and was headed by Activision's former CEO, Robert Kotick. Vivendi was the biggest shareholder in the new group.^[29] The new company was estimated to be worth US$18.9 billion, ahead of Electronic Arts, which was valued at US$14.1 billion.^[30]

Post-merger developments

Sledgehammer Games was founded on November 17, 2009 by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey,^[31] who left Electronic Arts subsidiary, Visceral Games.^[32][33][34]

The Sledgehammer Games micro site went live on December 8, 2009 with information on the studio development team, location, and current job openings. Speculation on the studio's next game has been offered by industry sites, Kotaku and Gamasutra.^[35] The studio's first game was originally planned to be a first-person shooter in the Call of Duty series, with rumors of MMO aspects, as revealed on their website^[36] on June 19, 2010. However, after the resignation of many Infinity Ward employees, Sledgehammer Games was brought in to help with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.^[37]

On February 9, 2011, Activision announced that it was ending its once profitable Guitar Hero franchise, in the process doing a layoff of approximately 500 people. At the same time it announced that it was discontinuing development of True Crime: Hong Kong, and that it was refocusing its efforts into a new online service named Call of Duty: Elite for its IP Call of Duty. At the same meeting these announcements were made, Activision reported net losses of $233 million for fourth quarter 2010.^[38]

In 2011 Activision restarted its in-house development team, releasing Generator Rex: Agent of Providence in October 2011 for PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Wii, and Xbox 360.^[39] The game was roundly ignored by critics, with no review scores available on Metacritic as of February 2012.^[40]

In October 2017, Activision was granted a patent on the manipulation of matchmaking in online multiplayer videogames in order to encourage players to purchase microtransactions. Activision claims that the system has not yet been implemented in a game.^[41][42]

Acquisitions and partnerships

Year	Acquisition
1997	Raven Software made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them. This partnership resulted in Hexen II, Heretic II, Soldier of Fortune, its sequel and Quake 4. That same year, Activision acquired CentreSoft Ltd., (an independent distributor in the United Kingdom) and NBG Distribution (a German distributor).
1998	Pandemic Studios was founded with an equity investment by Activision. Pandemic's first two games, Battlezone II: Combat Commander and Dark Reign 2, were both sequels to Activision games. That same year, Activision also inked deals with Marvel Entertainment, Head Game Publishing, Disney Interactive, LucasArts Entertainment and CD Contact Data.
1999	Activision acquired Neversoft, best recognized for their line of Tony Hawk skateboarding games. That same year, Activision acquired Expert Software (maker of Home Design 3D).
2000	Activision made an equity investment in Gray Matter Interactive, to develop the follow-up to id Software's Wolfenstein 3D.
2001	Activision acquired rights to Columbia Pictures' feature film Spider-Man. That same year, Activision also acquired Treyarch.
2002	Activision made an equity investment in Infinity Ward, a newly formed studio comprising 22 of the individuals who developed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. That same year, Activision acquired Z-Axis (the studio behind Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX) and Luxoflux Corporation.
2003	Activision and DreamWorks SKG inked a multi-year, multi-property publishing agreement. That same year, Activision also formed a partnership with Valve and acquired both Infinity Ward (developers of the Call of Duty franchise) and software developer Shaba Games LLC. Activision and Sega made a deal to publish the US releases of PC versions of some titles, especially Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. Activision, along with several other game software publishers, was investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices, namely the use of the "return reserve" to allegedly smooth quarterly results.
2004	The company marked its 25th anniversary, and stated that it had posted record earnings and the twelfth consecutive year of revenue growth.
2005	Activision acquired ShaderWorks, acquired game developers Vicarious Visions, Toys for Bob and Beenox.
2006	Activision secured the video game license to make games based on the world of James Bond from MGM Interactive. An exclusive agreement between the two begins in September 2007 with Activision's first game set for release in May 2008 being developed by Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions. Also in 2006, Activision acquired publisher RedOctane (the publisher of the Guitar Hero franchise).
2007	Activision acquired the control of games developer Bizarre Creations. Activision acquired Irish multiplayer technology company Demonware.[43]
2008	Merger with Vivendi Games (who owned Blizzard and Sierra) to become Activision Blizzard.[44]
2008	Activision acquired UK games studio FreeStyleGames.[45]
2009	Activision acquired Los Angeles-based developer 7 Studios.[46]
2010	Partnership with Bungie.[47] Activision announced that Sledgehammer Games will be making Call of Duty games.
2011	Beachhead Studios began developing the ELITE website for the Call of Duty games.
2014	Activision relaunched Sierra Entertainment as an indie game publisher and to re-release old Sierra games.
2015	Activision partnered with Nintendo to make Skylanders/amiibo figurines of Bowser and Donkey Kong
2016	Activision acquired $46 million USD worth of assets from Major League Gaming to develop Activision's esports activities.

Studios

See also: List of Activision Blizzard studios

Current

• 
  Beenox in Québec City, Québec, Canada, founded in May 2000, acquired on May 25, 2005.


• 
  Demonware in both Dublin, Republic of Ireland and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 2003, acquired in May 2007.


• 
  High Moon Studios in Carlsbad, California, founded as Sammy Corporation in April 2001, acquired by Vivendi Games in January 2006.


• 
  Infinity Ward in Woodland Hills, California, founded in 2002, acquired in October 2003.


• 
  Raven Software in Madison, Wisconsin, founded in 1990, acquired in 1997.


• 
  Sledgehammer Games in Foster City, California, founded on July 21, 2009.


• 
  Toys for Bob in Novato, California, founded in 1989, acquired on May 3, 2005.


• 
  Treyarch in Santa Monica, California, founded in 1996, acquired in 2001.


• 
  Vicarious Visions in Menands, New York, founded in 1990, acquired in January 2005.

Defunct

• The Blast Furnace in Leeds, United Kingdom, founded in November 2011 as Activision Leeds, changed rename in August 2012, closed in March 2014.


• 
  Gray Matter Interactive in Los Angeles, California, founded in the 1990s as Xatrix Entertainment, acquired in January 2002, merged into Treyarch in 2005.


• 
  Infocom in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded on June 22, 1979, acquired in 1986, closed in 1989.


• 
  Luxoflux in Santa Monica, California, founded in January 1997, acquired in October 2002, closed on February 11, 2010.^[48]
  


• 
  Shaba Games in San Francisco, California, founded in September 1997, acquired in 2002, and closed on October 8, 2009.^[49][50]
  


• 
  RedOctane in Mountain View, California, founded in November 2005, acquired in 2006, closed on February 11, 2010.^[51]
  


• 
  Underground Development in Redwood Shores, California, founded as Z-Axis in 1994, acquired in May 2002, closed on February 11, 2010.^[51]
  


• 
  Budcat Creations in Iowa City, Iowa, founded in September 2000, acquired on November 10, 2008, closed in November 2010.


• 7 Studios in Los Angeles, California, founded in 1999, acquired on April 6, 2009, closed in February 2011.


• 
  Bizarre Creations in Liverpool, England, founded as Raising Hell Productions in 1987 and changed name in 1994, acquired on September 26, 2007,^[52] closed on February 18, 2011.


• 
  Radical Entertainment in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1991, acquired by Vivendi Games in 2005, laid off most staff in 2012.


• Beachhead Studio in Santa Monica, California, founded in February 2011.


• 
  Neversoft in Los Angeles, California, founded in July 1994, acquired in October 1999, merged into Infinity Ward on May 3, 2014^[53] and was officially made defunct on July 10, 2014.^[54]
  

Sold

• 
  Wanako Games in Santiago, Chile, founded in 2005, acquired by Vivendi Games on February 20, 2007, sold to Artificial Mind and Movement on November 20, 2008.


• 
  FreeStyleGames in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, United Kingdom, founded in 2002, acquired on September 12, 2008, sold to Ubisoft on January 18, 2017.


• 
  Swordfish Studios in Birmingham, England, founded in September 2002, acquired by Vivendi Universal Games in June 2005, sold to Codemasters on November 14, 2008.


• 
  Massive Entertainment in Malmö, Sweden, founded in 1987, acquired by Vivendi Universal Games in 2002, sold to Ubisoft on November 10, 2008.

Notable games published

Main article: List of Activision video games

1980s Fishing Derby (1980) Boxing (1980) Skiing (1980) Freeway (1981) Ice Hockey (1981) Kaboom! (1981) Stampede (1981) Laser Blast (1981) Tennis (1981) Megamania (1982) Barnstorming (1982) Enduro (1982) Chopper Command (1982) Starmaster (1982) Pitfall! series (1982–2004) River Raid series (1982–1988) Oink! (1983) Beamrider (1983) H.E.R.O. (1984) Little Computer People (1985) Hacker series (1985–1986) Shanghai series (1986–1990) Transformers series (1986, 2007–2017) The Last Ninja series (1987–1988) MechWarrior series (1989–1996) 1990s Hunter (1991) Zork series (1993–1997) Dark Reign series (1997–2000) Heavy Gear series (1997–1999) Quake series (1997–2007) Interstate series (1997–1999) Battlezone series (1998–1999) SiN (1998) Heretic II (1998) Vigilante 8 series (1998–2008) Tenchu series (1998–2004) Call to Power series (1999–2000) Star Trek series (1999–2003) Tony Hawk's series (1999–2015)

2000s Soldier of Fortune series (2000–2007) X-Men series (2000–2011) Spider-Man series (2002–2014) Lost Kingdoms series (2002–2003) Total War series (2002–2004) Call of Duty series (2003–present) True Crime series (2003–2005) Wolfenstein series (2003–2009) Doom 3 (2004) The Movies (2005) Gun (2005) Guitar Hero series (2006–2015) Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series (2006–2013) James Bond series (2007–2012) Crash Bandicoot series (2008–present) Spyro the Dragon series (2008–present) Prototype series (2009–2012) 2010s Blur (2010) Singularity (2010) NASCAR The Game series (2011–2013) Skylanders series (2011–present) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series (2013–2016) Destiny series (2014–2018) Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

See also

• 
  Activision portal
  


• List of video game companies

Notes

References

1. 
   ^ https://variety.com/2019/gaming/news/activision-blizzard-exec-shuffle-appoints-new-heads-of-activision-king-emerging-business-1203103289/
   


2. 
   ^ "About Activision Publishing". www.activision.com. Activision Publishing. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


3. 
   ^ "Activision Blizzard, Inc. 2013 Annual Report Form (10-K)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. March 3, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014.
   


4. 
   ^ "Top 25 Companies by Game Revenues". newzoo.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
   


5. 
   ^ Rosmarin, Rachel (December 2, 2007). "Vivendi To Merge With Activision". Forbes. Forbes.com LLC. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
   


6. 
   ^ "Activision To Buy Back Independence In $8.2 Billion Vivendi Deal". Forbes.com. July 26, 2013. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
   


7. 
   ^ Fletcher, JC (July 13, 2010). "Activision Publishing names Eric Hirshberg as new CEO". Engadget. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
   


8. 
   ^ https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/18/activision-publishing-ceo-eric-hirshberg-is-leaving-in-march-after-8-years/
   


9. 
   ^ "Stream of video games is endless". Milwaukee Journal. December 26, 1982. pp. Business 1. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
   


10. 
    ^ Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce; Katz, Arnie (November 1988). "Video Gaming World". Computer Gaming World. p. 54.
    


11. 
    ^ "Classic Gaming Expo Distinguished Guest: ALAN MILLER". Classic Gaming Expo. CGE Services, Corp. 1999–2010. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
    


12. 
    ^ https://www.wired.com/2007/06/gallery-game-history/
    


13. 
    ^ Hubner, John; Kistner Jr., William F. (November 28, 1983). "What went wrong at Atari?". InfoWorld. Originally published in the San Jose Mercury News. p. 151. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
    


14. 
    ^ ^ab "DAVID CRANE INTERVIEW (1994)". Video Game Ephemera. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
    


15. 
    ^ Ice Hockey Instructions, page 4. Activision 1981
    


16. 
    ^ Pitfall! Instructions, page 4. Activision 1982
    


17. 
    ^ Chopper Command Instructions, page 4. Activision 1982
    


18. 
    ^ Ice Hockey instructions, page 3. Activision 1981
    


19. 
    ^ Pitfall! Instructions, page 3. Activision, 1982
    


20. 
    ^ Chopper Command Instructions, page 3. Activision 1982
    


21. 
    ^ Goodman, Danny (Spring 1983). "Home Video Games: Video Games Update". Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games. p. 32.
    


22. 
    ^ "Down From the Top of Its Game: The Story of Infocom, Inc" (PDF). MIT. December 15, 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
    


23. 
    ^ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (October 3, 1988). "InfoWorld". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016 – via Google Books.
    


24. 
    ^ "Gamasutra – The History Of Activision". Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
    


25. 
    ^ "TEN POINT O Trademark 73761861 – Trademark Alertz". Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
    


26. 
    ^ Sengstack, Jeff (June 24, 1996). "Activision: Reorganized, Redefined and on the Rebound". NewMedia. Archived from the original on January 28, 1998.
    


27. 
    ^ ^ab "Mechwarrior – History". Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
    ^{[unreliable source?]}
    


28. 
    ^ ^ab "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2016.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
    


29. 
    ^ "Vivendi and Activision to create Activision Blizzard – World's Largest, Most Profitable Pure-Play Video Game Publisher" (Press release). Activision, Vivendi. December 2, 2007. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
    


30. 
    ^ Szalai, Georg (July 8, 2008). "Activision-Vivendi to Shake Up Games Biz". AdWeek. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
    


31. 
    ^ "Michael Condrey". MobyGames. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
    


32. 
    ^ "News: Activision cracks EA with Sledgehammer". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. November 18, 2009. Archived from the original on November 20, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
    


33. 
    ^ "Activision Publishing Hires Industry Veterans Glen A. Schofield and Michael Condrey to Lead Sledgehammer Games – Yahoo! Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
    


34. 
    ^ Chalk, Andy (November 18, 2009). "The Escapist : News : EA Vets Launch New Activision Studio". Escapistmagazine.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
    


35. 
    ^ "Sledgehammer Games Goes Online, Needs Help – Sledgehammer games". Kotaku. December 8, 2009. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
    


36. 
    ^ "Sledgehammer Games working on new Call of Duty". Extra Guy. June 19, 2010. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
    


37. 
    ^ "Modern Warfare 3 on track for November". Fudzilla. January 21, 2011. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
    


38. 
    ^ "Activision pulls plug on Guitar Hero, laying off 500 workers". Los Angeles Times. February 9, 2011. Archived from the original on February 13, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
    


39. 
    ^ "Activision is developing again". Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
    


40. 
    ^ "Generator Rex: Agent of Providence". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
    


41. 
    ^ Phillips, Tom (October 18, 2017). "Activision patents matchmaking system designed to encourage microtransactions". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
    


42. 
    ^ Alexandra, Heather (October 17, 2017). "Activision patents matchmaking that encourages players to buy microtransactions". Kotaku. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
    


43. 
    ^ Fohey, Rob (March 6, 2007). "Activision confirms Demonware acquisition". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
    


44. 
    ^ "Blizzard Entertainment – Press Release". July 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 12, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
    


45. 
    ^ Bramwell, Tom (October 28, 2008). "Activision man confirms DJ Hero". Eurogamer. Eurogamer Network. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
    


46. 
    ^ "Activision Blizzard Announces Better-Than-Expected Second quarter CY 2009 Financial Results". Activision. August 15, 2009. Archived from the original on August 26, 2009.
    


47. 
    ^ Ashcraft, Brian. "Halo Developer Joins Forces With Activision". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010.
    


48. 
    ^ "Activision lays off about 200 employees, shuts down Santa Monica studio Luxoflux". Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2010. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
    


49. 
    ^ McWhertor, Michael. "Activision Lays Off Shaba's Ranks, Closes Studio (Update)". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009.
    


50. 
    ^ Martin, Matt (October 9, 2009). "Activision confirms Shaba Studios closure". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
    


51. 
    ^ ^ab Plunkett, Luke. "Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers (Update)". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010.
    


52. 
    ^ Activision Acquires U.K. Game Developer Bizarre Creations Archived December 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine from Activision's website
    


53. 
    ^ Fahey, Mike (May 3, 2014). "Report: Neversoft Merging With Call Of Duty Developer Infinity Ward". kotaku.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
    


54. 
    ^ Phillips, Tom (July 10, 2014). "Tony Hawk studio Neversoft bids farewell, burns eyeball effigy". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
    

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Activision.

• Official website

v t e Activision
List of video games
Franchises	3D Ultra Minigolf Assault Heroes Cabela's Call of Duty Crash Bandicoot Geometry Wars Guitar Hero King's Quest Pitfall! Space Quest Skylanders Spyro True Crime
Subsidiaries	Current Beenox Demonware High Moon Studios Infinity Ward Radical Entertainment Raven Software Sledgehammer Games Toys for Bob Treyarch Vicarious Visions Former Behaviour Santiago Bizarre Creations Budcat Creations Gray Matter Interactive Infocom Luxoflux Massive Entertainment Neversoft RedOctane Shaba Games Sierra Entertainment Swordfish Studios FreeStyleGames Underground Development
Related	Activision Blizzard Blizzard Entertainment King Vivendi Games
Portal

v t e Guitar Hero
Main series	Guitar Hero songs Guitar Hero II songs III: Legends of Rock songs World Tour songs Guitar Hero 5 songs Warriors of Rock songs Live songs
Expansions	Encore: Rocks the 80s songs Aerosmith songs Metallica songs Smash Hits Van Halen
Spinoffs	Band Hero On Tour series songs Mobile series DJ Hero songs DJ Hero 2 songs
Related articles	Cultural impact Rock Band Slash "Guitar Queer-O" Marcus Henderson Steve Ouimette "Sudden Death" WaveGroup Sound Frets on Fire Rhythm game accessories

v t e Infocom
Zork series	Original trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Other Beyond Zork Zork Zero Return to Zork Zork Nemesis Zork: Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Legends of Zork
BattleTech series	BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge
Leather Goddesses series	Leather Goddesses of Phobos Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2
Planetfall series	Planetfall Stationfall
Text adventures	Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur Ballyhoo Border Zone Bureaucracy Cutthroats Deadline The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Hollywood Hijinx Infidel Journey The Lurking Horror A Mind Forever Voyaging Moonmist Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It Plundered Hearts Seastalker Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels James Clavell's Shōgun Starcross Suspect Suspended Trinity Wishbringer The Witness
Other titles	Circuit's Edge Cornerstone Fooblitzky Mines of Titan Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth Tombs & Treasure
Implementers	Tim Anderson Bob Bates Michael Berlyn Marc Blank Amy Briggs Dave Lebling Steve Meretzky Brian Moriarty
Other people	Douglas Adams Bruce Daniels Albert Vezza Joe Ybarra
Companies	Infocom Activision Legend Entertainment Westwood Studios
Miscellaneous	69,105 Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces of Infocom Get Lamp Grue Hello, sailor InfoTaskForce InvisiClues The Lost Treasures of Infocom Z-machine Zork books

v t e Star Trek video games
Action	25th Anniversary (Game Boy) Beyond the Nexus Elite Force Elite Force II The Fallen Generations Hidden Evil Klingon Honor Guard The Next Generation (1993) Phaser Strike Strategic Operations Simulator (arcade) Voyager – The Arcade Game Star Trek (2013)
Adventure	25th Anniversary (computer) 25th Anniversary (NES) A Final Unity Borg Future's Past Crossroads of Time Harbinger Judgment Rites Klingon Voyager (canceled)
Simulation	Bridge Commander Bridge Crew Encounters Invasion Klingon Academy Shattered Universe Starfleet Academy Starfleet Academy - Starship Bridge Simulator
Strategy	Alien Domain Armada Armada II Away Team Birth of the Federation DAC Conquest ConQuest Online Dominion Wars Fleet Command Legacy New Worlds The Rebel Universe Starfleet Command Starfleet Command II Orion Pirates Starfleet Command III Star Trek (1971) Tactical Assault Timelines
Other	Starship Creator Starship Creator Warp II Online The Promethean Prophecy The Kobayashi Alternative Secret of Vulcan Fury (cancelled) A World For All Seasons (unreleased)
Studios	Interplay Entertainment Simon & Schuster Interactive MicroProse Activision Bethesda Softworks

This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here