Activision Blizzard Closes King Digital Deal, Becomes World’s Largest Game Network
Welcome to the “World of Warcraft” and “Call of Duty” fold, “Candy Crush” creator
Tony Maglio | February 23, 2016 @ 6:35 AM
Last Updated: February 23, 2016 @ 9:54 AM
Ready, Player 1? Activision Blizzard Inc. is now the world’s largest game network, thanks to the completion of its King Digital Entertainment acquisition.
This morning, ABS Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, acquired all of the outstanding shares of King for $18 in cash per share — totaling an equity value of $5.9 billion. The deal was first announced in November.
Activision’s impressive portfolio includes “World of Warcraft” and “Call of Duty.” Now, it has King’s “Candy Crush.”
“We now reach over 500 million users across almost every country, making us the largest game network in the world,” said Bobby Kotick, chief executive officer of Activision Blizzard. “We see great opportunities to create new ways for audiences to experience their favorite franchises, from ‘Candy Crush’ to ‘World of Warcraft’ to ‘Call of Duty’ and more, across mobile devices, consoles and personal computers.”
“We are thrilled to now be a part of Activision Blizzard and can’t wait to start working together,” added Riccardo Zacconi, chief executive officer of King. “I want to thank everyone at King for all of their hard work since we founded the company 13 years ago. We are excited about the future as we continue developing more exciting games and explore new ways to serve our players and build on the greatest franchises in interactive entertainment.”
Zacconi, Chief Creative Officer Sebastian Knutsson and Chief Operating Officer Stephane Kurgan will continue to oversee King, which will operate as an independent unit of Activision Blizzard.
11 Horrible Video Game Adaptations Before 'Pixels' (Video)
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"Super Mario Bros." (1993)
Box Office: $20.9 million.
Mario himself, Bob Hoskins, has not only called this movie the worst job he's ever had, but it's also the biggest disappointment AND regret of his career.
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"Double Dragon" (1994)
Box Office: $2.34 million.
In this wildly-inaccurate vision of 2007, the fate of a crappy city called "New Angeles" (L.A. and San Diego combined) will be decided by an ancient Chinese medallion, that alcoholic sibling on "Party of Five" and the T-1000 from "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." If the trailer doesn't scare you away, it's currently streaming on Netflix.
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"Street Fighter" (1994)
Box Office: $99.4 million.
The goofy Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie nearly tripled it's $35 million budget internationally, but it was universally panned by critics. Perhaps the biggest flaw was the eventual appearance of fan favorite character Blanka -- a ferocious beast in the game, who just looked like a poorly-costumed actor in the movie.
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"Wing Commander" (1999)
Box Office: $11.57 million.
This movie bombed in theaters, and was booed by critics. But at least this Freddy Prinze Jr. movie really, really, REALLY makes you appreciate "Star Wars." Even the prequels.
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"House of the Dead" (2003)
Box Office: $13.8 million.
In this zombie video game adaptation's defense, it landed in theaters years before the public's hunger for the walking dead began. And it was directed by Uwe Boll.
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"Alone in the Dark" (2005)
Box Office: $10.4 million.
The video game helped set the standard for survival horror, while the movie set the standard for the rest of Tara Reid's career. Uwe Boll was charged with bringing this to the big screen, as well.
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"Doom" (2005)
Box Office: $55.98 million.
Before The Rock was box office viagra, he starred opposite Karl Urban in this $60 million first-person shooter adaptation that went limp at the box office.
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"DOA: Dead or Alive" (2006)
Box Office: $7.5 million.
What happens when Eric Roberts rounds up a bunch of hot fighter chicks to fight for a $10 million prize "any time, anywhere"? Nothing good.
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"In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" (2008)
Box Office: $13 million.
Jason Statham, Ray Liotta and Burt Reynolds may have thought they were starring in the next "Lord of the Rings"-style fantasy epic (or they just needed a paycheck). But in reality, this adaptation of Microsoft role-playing game "Dungeon Siege" was just the next Uwe Boll bomb.
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"Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" (2009)
Box Office: $12.7 million (2009).
Hopes for some kind of redemption for the beloved Capcom fighting game -- or a Chris Klein comeback -- were immediately dashed when this "Street Fighter" got a beating from critics.
"Need for Speed" (2014)
Box Office: $43.6 million.
In his first lead big-screen role post-"Breaking Bad," Aaron Paul failed to rev up audiences playing a street racer who joins a cross-country race with revenge in mind.
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As bad reviews pile up for Adam Sandler’s new film, here are 10 more awful video game-based movies that tanked
"Super Mario Bros." (1993)
Box Office: $20.9 million.
Mario himself, Bob Hoskins, has not only called this movie the worst job he's ever had, but it's also the biggest disappointment AND regret of his career.
