Chase 136 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Because Activision-Blizzard just bought King Digital Entertainment, the company responsible for Candy Crush Saga, for $5.9 billion. One of the largest names in video games has made a huge move to beef up its mobile gaming division. Activition Blizzard announced Monday it plans to pay a handsome $5.9 billion to acquire King Digital Entertainment, the creator of the popular game Candy Crush Saga. Activision will keep King independent, led by its current CEO Riccardo Zacconi. The new parent will get King at $18 a share — a deal, compared with the $22.50 per share for King's initial public offering last year. The price tag of $5.9 billion is a massive sum to pay for King, which has in recent years struggled to maintain its reign over mobile gamers. Since the success of Candy Crush Saga, which has topped charts for years since its debut in 2011, King hasn't been able to produce an equivalent title. The company has produced some 200 titles, but none have surpassed Candy Crush. In May this year, it admitted that the number of paying players had dropped to 8.52 million, from 11.86 million the year before. Its earnings were down to $604 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared with $641 million in 2014. Still, King commands the attention of some 340 million monthly active players, making it one of the world's biggest mobile publishers. Activision, on the other hand, is a multi-billion dollar stalwart of the bigger world of traditional video games, covering desktop and console titles, and rivals firms like Electronic Arts (EA). Activision owns blockbuster franchises like Call of Duty and the World of Warcraft series, which it acquired after a $9.8 billion merger in 2008 with Blizzard Entertainment owner Vivendi. With the growth of mobile gaming, Activision has started to take this segment seriously. Currently, mobile games already contribute 11% of its revenue, similar to EA, which makes 12% from mobile. In recent years, Activision has been decidedly more cautious in the mobile space, tapping on its tried-and-tested franchises like Call of Duty for its mobile offerings. With its new acquisition of King, however, it appears Activision is ready to make a big, bold step into the world of mobile games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel with a shotgun 320 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 no sorry it's too hard for me, I got stuck on like the 2nd level and it made me sad :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s4a 13,715 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Would have made more sense for EA to buy them. Keep all evil under one umbrella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Stupid Jellyfish 1,913 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Could never get into Candy Crush tbh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nowhere Boy 2,431 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 i tried playing candy crush once and never played it again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marirranya 2 Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 OMG! I also heard this news just today!! I can't wait what the outcome would be LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylar 521 Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 i got soda app, more than enough for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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