The developer Activision was founded in 1979. It is a game developer and publisher. He's been active for a long time.
The beginning
In 1976 Warner Communications bought Atari Inc. The aim was to promote the Atari system until 1977. In the same year Atari hired programmers. They should write the games for the system. The names of the programmers were not disclosed at the time of publication. After all, the competition shouldn't poach them away. Briefly, Warner Communications' management style differed from Bushnell's management style. Developers were treated more like engineers. They weren't valued like creative people. This led to conflicts with the staff. Atari CEO Ray Kassar strove to keep production costs for Warner low.
The Gang of Four
After 1979, Kran found that the games he oversaw grossed over $20 million. The development staff accounted for $20.000 for Kran, Larry-Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead. That was around 60% of Atari's sales. The four developers criticized the recognition at Atari. They were called the "Gang of Four". In May 1979, the four met with Kassar. Their goal was better treatment for developers. They wanted to be treated like musicians who receive royalties.
A fresh start with Activision
The four subsequently decided to leave Atari. They aspired to start their own studio. In 1979 there was no concept of third party video games. Video games were only released by the console manufacturers. So in order to program a console game, you first needed a console. The four decided to found an independent game development company: Activision. They contacted attorney Jim Levy. He tried to raise venture capital for early home computer software deals. He helped them raise $1 million in seed capital from Sutter Hill Ventures. They checked the legal situation and already included litigation fees.
In August, Kran and Miller left Atari. Whitehead followed them. Kaplan initially stayed away from the business model. He only got involved in December.
The headquarters of Activision
Activision is an American company. Its headquarters were initially in Santa Monica, California. David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead founded the developer on October 1, 1979. Levy took over as CEO. The company operated under the title Computer Arts, Inc. The founders later worked there as employees. At first they thought of the title Vsync Inc. but dropped it. Levy suggested a combination of "active" and "television" or "television".
Activision started in 1979 in Crane's garage. Each developer developed their own game. The games were scheduled for mid-1980. The games under development were Dragster, Fishing Derby, Checkers and Boxing. They developed the games for the Atari 2600. Activision's boxes were brightly colored, with a screenshot on the back. There was a page with an instruction manual. Another page was dedicated to the developers. The developers kept the concept until 1983.
Activision Blizzard eventually developed into the parent company of numerous small subsidiary studios. Because of this, it is one of the largest video game distributors in the world.
The founding of Activision
The reason for the foundation was the bad treatment of the developers at Atari. They therefore strived to develop their own games for the Atari 2600 system. At the time, the Atari 2600 was the most popular home console. After its founding, the developer grew into the first independent third-party video game developer.
The video game industry crashed in 1983. It was partly created by too many small businesses. They tried to emulate Activision. Most of them, however, lacked founding experience. The small developers therefore became a threat to Activision's position in the console sector.
The consoles
In the beginning, the company only focused on game consoles. This included systems such as the Atari 2600. In the 1980s, the company added computer games to its products. This was due to the declining sales of console games. This was followed by the takeover of smaller development studios. The company's diversification subsequently led to the acquisition of Infocom. A decision was made to change management. Jim Levy took over from Bruce Davis as CEO. It was then renamed Medagenic. However, the company was heavily indebted. Bobby Kotick bought the company in 1991 with a small group of investors. He invested $500.000 in the process.
Kotick's work
Kotick took care of the company immediately in order to reduce the debt: he fired most of the employees. He then moved the company headquarters to Los Angeles. He then renamed the company back to Activision. He relied on external products for the company. This was followed by Activision's first work as a publisher. On top of that, Kottick managed to get the company out of debt.
The holding company
The developer eventually even took over other developer studios. Between 1990 and 2000 the company increased in value. Games that Activision added to its portfolio included Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. Rather, Kottick created a holding company that stood above Activision. The studios were then managed via the company. In 2008 the merger with Vivendi Games followed. Vivenid Games was the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment. This structure made it possible for the developer to manage numerous studios, for example. The publication was made by the parent company.
sales increases
The company eventually continued to expand. Sales in 2003 were well over $864 million. Activision took over other development studios. Among other things, this included Infinity Ward with the Call of Duty games. On December 2, 2007, the group merged with Blizzard to form Activision Blizzard. In 2008, the company left the American umbrella organization for game developers, the Entertainment Software Association. Activision now works under the label of the parent company.
Activision has been developing various games since 2009. Smaller development studios played a role in this. In 2021, several scandals shook the company. Eventually they went outside and the company reorganized itself.
Here it goes to the Playing Activision Blizzard
Here it goes to Activision Blizzard website
