Description of Business

Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services. We develop and distribute content and services across all of the major gaming platforms including video game consoles, personal computers (“PC”), and mobile devices. The terms “Activision Blizzard,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” are used to refer collectively to Activision Blizzard, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

The Company was originally incorporated in California in 1979 and was reincorporated in Delaware in December 1992. We are the result of the 2008 business combination (the “Business Combination”) by and among the Company (then known as Activision, Inc.), Vivendi S.A. (“Vivendi”), and Vivendi Games, Inc. (“Vivendi Games”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivendi. In connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, Activision, Inc., was renamed Activision Blizzard, Inc.

The common stock of Activision Blizzard is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol “ATVI.”

The King Acquisition

On February 23, 2016 (the "King Closing Date"), we acquired King Digital Entertainment, a leading interactive mobile entertainment company (“King”), by purchasing all of its outstanding shares (the "King Acquisition"), as further described in Note 21. Our consolidated financial statements include the operations of King commencing on the King Closing Date.

Our Reportable Segments

Based on our organizational structure, we conduct our business through three reportable operating segments as follows:

(i) Activision Publishing, Inc.

Activision Publishing, Inc. (“Activision”) is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive software products and entertainment content, particularly in console gaming. Activision primarily delivers content through retail channels or digital downloads, including full-game sales and in-game purchases, as well as licenses of software to third-party or related-party companies that distribute Activision products. Activision develops, markets and sells products which are principally based on our internally-developed intellectual properties, as well as some licensed properties. Additionally, we have established a long-term alliance with Bungie to publish its game universe, Destiny.

Activision's key product franchises include: Call of Duty^®, a first-person shooter for the console and PC platforms; Destiny, an online universe of first-person action gameplay (which we call a "shared-world shooter") for console platforms; and Skylanders^®, a kid's game franchise that brings physical toys to life digitally in the game primarily for console platforms.

(ii) Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (“Blizzard”) is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive software products and entertainment content, particularly in PC gaming. Blizzard primarily delivers content through retail channels or digital downloads, including subscriptions, full-game sales, and in-game purchases, as well as licenses of software to third-party or related party companies that distribute Blizzard products. Blizzard also maintains a proprietary online gaming service which facilitates digital distribution of Blizzard content, online social connectivity across all Blizzard games, and the creation of user-generated content for Blizzard's games.

Blizzard's key product franchises include: World of Warcraft^®, a subscription-based massive multi-player online role-playing game for the PC; StarCraft^®, a real-time strategy PC franchise; Diablo^®, an action role-playing franchise for PC and console platforms; Hearthstone^®, an online collectible card franchise for the PC and mobile platforms; Heroes of the Storm^®, a free-to-play team brawler for the PC; and Overwatch^®, a team-based first person shooter for the PC and console platforms.

(iii) King Digital Entertainment

King Digital Entertainment (“King”) is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services, particularly on mobile platforms, such as Android and iOS. King also distributes its content and services on online social platforms, such as Facebook and the king.com websites. King’s games are free-to-play, however players can acquire in-game virtual items, either with virtual currency the players purchase, or directly using real currency.

King's key product franchises, all of which are for the PC and mobile platforms, include: Candy Crush^™, which features "match three" games; Farm Heroes^™, which also features "match three" games; Pet Rescue^™, which is a "clicker" game; and Bubble Witch^™, which features "bubble shooter" games.

(iv) Other

We also engage in other businesses that do not represent reportable segments, including:

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The Major League Gaming (“MLG”) business (which we formerly referred to as Activision Blizzard Media Networks or Media Networks), which is devoted to esports and builds on our competitive gaming efforts by creating ways to deliver a best-in-class fan experience across games, platforms, and geographies with a long-term strategy of monetization through advertising, sponsorships, tournaments, and premium content.


•	The Activision Blizzard Studios (“Studios”) business, which is devoted to creating original film and television content based on our library of globally recognized intellectual properties, and, in October 2016, released the first season of the animated TV series Skylanders^™ Academy on Netflix.


•	The Activision Blizzard Distribution (“Distribution”) business, which consists of operations in Europe that provide warehousing, logistics, and sales distribution services to third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software, our own publishing operations, and manufacturers of interactive entertainment hardware.