Subsequent events (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended					0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Sep. 19, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Oct. 11, 2013 Facilities LIBOR Rate LIBOR Rate Loans	Sep. 30, 2013 Vivendi	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Facilities Prime Rate Base Rate Loans	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Facilities Federal Funds Effective Rate Base Rate Loans	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Facilities LIBOR Rate Base Rate Loans	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Term Loan	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Term Loan LIBOR Rate LIBOR Rate Loans	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Revolver	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Purchase Transaction	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Vivendi	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events ASAC	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Activision Blizzard	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Public	Oct. 11, 2013 Subsequent Events Expected
Subsequent Events - Purchase Transaction and Private Sale
Treasury Stock, Acquired, Shares																		429
Treasury Stock, Acquired, Value																		$ 5,830,000,000
Treasury Stock, Price Per Share																		$ 13.60
Cash Payments for Repurchase of Common Stock				0	315,000,000										1,200,000,000
Common Stock Outstanding								695
Shares of Activision Blizzard common stock owned by a specific shareholder																83	172
Percent of Activision Blizzard common stock owned by a specific shareholder							61.00%									12.00%	24.70%		63.00%
Stock Purchased By ASAC, Shares																	172
Stock Purchased By ASAC, Value																	2,340,000,000
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards								676,000,000
Potential Future Tax Benefit		10,000,000	2,000,000	249,000,000	176,000,000			0												(245,000,000)
Net Operating Loss Carryforward Indemnification Amount Obtained								0												200,000,000
Proceeds From Issuance of Secured Debt															2,500,000,000
Proceeds From Issuance of Unsecured Notes	2,211,000,000														2,250,000,000
Proceeds From Lines of Credit								0
Subsequent Events - Financing Facilities
Maximum borrowing capacity												2,500,000,000		250,000,000
Maximum letter of credit that can be issued under the Revolver														$ 50,000,000
Percentage of Revolver outstanding which triggers certain financial covenants														15.00%
Applicable margin (as a percent)										0.50%	1.00%
Percentage of required quarterly payments												0.25%
Description of variable rate basis						LIBOR			Prime rate as designated by the administrative agent	Federal funds rate	LIBOR rate for one month
LIBOR floor rate													0.75%