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 on video game consoles, personal computers (“PC”), and mobile devices. We also operate esports events and leagues and create film and television content based on our games. 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. In connection with the 2008 business combination by and among the Company (then known as Activision, Inc.), Vivendi S.A. (“Vivendi”), and Vivendi Games, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivendi, we were 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 20. Our consolidated financial statements include the operations of King commencing on the King Closing Date.

Our Segments

As part of the continued implementation of our esports strategy, we instituted changes to our internal organization and reporting structure such that the Major League Gaming (“MLG”) business now operates as a division of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (“Blizzard”). As such, commencing with the second quarter of 2017, MLG, which was previously a separate operating segment, is now a component of the Blizzard operating segment. MLG is responsible for the operations of the Overwatch League^TM, along with other esports events, and will also continue to serve as a multi-platform network for other Activision Blizzard esports content.

Based upon 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 for the console platform. Activision primarily delivers content through retail and digital channels, including full-game and in-game sales, as well as by licensing software to third-party or related-party companies that distribute Activision products. Activision develops, markets, and sells products based on our internally developed intellectual properties, as well as some licensed properties. We have also 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, and Destiny, an online universe of first-person action gameplay (which we call a “shared-world shooter”) for the console and PC platforms.

(ii) Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Blizzard is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive software products and entertainment content, particularly for the PC platform. Blizzard primarily delivers content through retail and digital channels, including subscriptions, full-game, and in-game sales, as well as by licensing software to third-party or related-party companies that distribute Blizzard products. Blizzard also maintains a proprietary online gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®, which facilitates digital distribution of Blizzard content, along with Activision's Destiny 2 PC content, online social connectivity, and the creation of user-generated content. As noted above, Blizzard also includes the activities of our MLG business, which is responsible for the operations of the Overwatch League, along with other esports events, and will also continue to serve as a multi-platform network for other Activision Blizzard esports content.

Blizzard’s key product franchises include: World of Warcraft^®, a subscription-based massive multi-player online role-playing game for PC; StarCraft^®, a real-time strategy PC franchise; Diablo^®, an action role-playing franchise for the 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 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 Google Inc.’s (“Google”) Android and Apple Inc.’s (“Apple”) iOS. King also distributes its content and services on the PC platform, primarily via Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”). King’s games are free to play, however, players can acquire in-game items, either with virtual currency the players purchase or directly using real currency.

King’s key product franchises, all of which are for the mobile and PC platforms, include: Candy Crush^™, which features “match three” games; Farm Heroes^™, which also features “match three” games; and Bubble Witch^™, which features "bubble shooter" games.

Other

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


•	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 which, in October 2017, released the second season of the animated TV series Skylanders™ Academy on Netflix; and


•	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.