Computer game Call of Duty’s publisher has bought the company that created Candy crush, in a deal worth a gigantic $5.9 billion.
Activision Blizzard has bought King Digital Entertainment, the creator of the worldwide famous mobile smash hit Candy Crush Saga for $5.9 billion.
King CEO Riccardo Zacconi said that his company had built one of the largest networks of players on Facebook and on mobile devices, noting that King’s games had 474 million monthly active users in the third quarter of 2015.
Activision already owns one of the biggest gaming franchise in Call of Duty among others as a result of its merger with Blizzard in 2008.
This move gives Activision Blizzard instant access to huge mobile market. The company has traditionally focused on console and PC games, with just five percent of its net revenue coming from the mobile sector in its largest earnings report.
The addition of King now gives the company a chance to reach over half-a-billion people in 196 countries, a move that, according to it, could generate $36 billion in revenue by the end of 2015.
It is however reported that even though the decision to acquire King will add a lot to Activision Blizzard’s bottom line, it may not endear the much-maligned publisher to gamers at large. Some have in the past criticized boss Bobby Kotick for his apparent focus on money rather than the people who play the company’s games.
