Social network gaming giant King Digital Entertainment as been taken over by Activision Blizzard, the latter paying an astonishing $5.9 billion for majority control of the shares.
King, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, makes its claim to fame as the largest ever developer of games for facebook.com. You’re likely having a flashback to every time you opened Candy Crush on your phone, remembering that giant KING logo on the loading screen.
According to CEO Bobby Kotick, the move places Activision Blizzard firmly in control of the interactive entertainment industry;
“The combined revenues and profits solidify our position as the largest, most profitable standalone company in interactive entertainment. With a combined global network of more than half a billion monthly active users, our potential to reach audiences around the world on the device of their choosing enables us to deliver great games to even bigger audiences than ever before.”
There is no word yet as to what this acquisition may mean for Activision Blizzard moving forward, as it remains unclear if this move will signal any sort of shift in the creative direction of Activision Blizzard.
It seems unlikely that Activision Blizzard is going to change its direction drastically, considering King will continue to be run by its previous CEO, CCO, COO. The buyout appears to be more about expanding Blizzard’s financial empire within the gaming industry, and less about any actual shift in Blizzard’s creative focus.
