Activision Blizzard will soon become one of the largest mobile game producers following its acquisition of Candy Crush owner King Digital Entertainment. The deal, worth some US$5.9 billion (about RM25.3 billion), still needs to be put up for vote with King’s shareholders; but is expected to go through without any problems.
The acquisition of the King will give Activision Blizzard access to a massive mobile market, on account that the developer has 474 million active users in Q3 2015. Mobile gaming is a market that is currently out of reach of the publisher/developer that dominates a large portion of the console and PC gaming markets. Activision is currently publishers for triple A titles like the Call of Duty Series and Destiny, while Blizzard needs no introduction.
Activision Blizzard is quite upfront about its intentions for buying over the Candy Crush developer, and its press release outlines a strategy that will cater to both casual and core gamers. The company expects the revenue from mobile to grow by a cumulative 50-percent by the end of 2019.
While this is great news for the bottom line at all the companies involved, it may not sit well with gamers. King’s business practices and reliance on micro-transactions have not endeared it to fans. It is unlikely that these practices will have a negative impact on the rest of Activision’s games; considering that it is already dealing with bad press about the recent Destiny expansion packs.
[Source: Business Wire]
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