History of Activision in Timeline

Activision Publishing, Inc., based in Santa Monica, California, is a major American video game publisher operating as the publishing business for Activision Blizzard. It ranks as one of the world's largest third-party video game publishers and held the top position among United States publishers in 2016. The company manages several subsidiary studios, contributing to its extensive portfolio of video games.

1976: Warner Communications buys Atari

In 1976, Warner Communications acquired Atari, Inc. from Nolan Bushnell to accelerate the release of the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS, later the Atari 2600) by 1977.

1977: Atari hires programmers for the Atari VCS

In 1977, Atari began hiring programmers to create games for the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS, later the Atari 2600).

1978: Ray Kassar becomes Atari CEO

Following Warner's acquisition of Atari, Ray Kassar was named CEO of Atari in 1978.

May 1979: "Gang of Four" demands royalties from Atari

In May 1979, Crane, Kaplan, Miller, and Whitehead (known as the "Gang of Four") met with Atari CEO Ray Kassar to demand royalties and recognition for their work on game boxes, similar to how record labels treat musicians.

October 1, 1979: Activision founded

On October 1, 1979, Activision, Inc. was founded in Sunnyvale, California, by former Atari game developers who were dissatisfied with their treatment at Atari. The company was created to develop games for the Atari 2600 and became the first independent, third-party console video game developer.

1979: Decision to leave Atari and seek funding

In 1979, the four programmers (Crane, Kaplan, Miller, and Whitehead) decided to leave Atari to start their own independent game development company. They secured approximately $1 million in capital from Sutter Hill Ventures with the help of Jim Levy.

1979: Atari's marketing memo and programmer compensation

In early 1979, Atari's marketing department circulated a memo listing best-selling cartridges from the previous year. This highlighted the discrepancy between the revenue generated by programmers like Crane ($20 million) and their salaries ($20,000).

1979: Activision begins development in Crane's garage

In the latter half of 1979, Activision started developing games in Crane's garage, with each programmer working on their own title planned for release in mid-1980.

1980: Modest hits after initial releases

After the initial releases, in 1980 Activision's games had modest success, as each of the founders developed their own titles about once a year.

1980: Planned release of first games

In 1980, Activision planned to release its first games: Dragster, Fishing Derby, Checkers, and Boxing.

1980: Activision showcases titles at CES and faces Atari's backlash

In 1980, Activision showcased their titles at the Consumer Electronics Show, attracting favorable press. Atari attempted to damage Activision's reputation and threatened retailers carrying Activision games.

1981: Release and success of Kaboom!

In 1981, Activision released Kaboom!, which became the company's first game to sell over a million units.

1981: The success of Activision leading to the formation of Imagic.

In 1981, after Activision's success, one of the third-party development studios was formed after, Imagic.

1982: Release of Pitfall! and Kaplan leaves Activision

In 1982, Activision released Pitfall!, created by Crane, which sold over four million copies and became a breakout title for the company. Near the end of 1982, Kaplan left Activision to work on the development of the Amiga personal computer.

1982: Atari lawsuit settled

In 1982, the lawsuit between Atari and Activision was settled. Activision agreed to pay royalties to Atari, but the agreement legitimized the third-party development model.

June 1983: Activision's initial public offering

In June 1983, Activision completed its initial public offering on NASDAQ under the stock ticker AVSN. Before the IPO, total sales were estimated at $157 million and revenues at $60 million, with approximately 60 employees.

1983: Rise of third-party developers and impact on the video game crash

In 1983, The success of Activision led to the rise of numerous third-party developers and other home consoles. Many of these new developers lacked experience and contributed to the video game crash of 1983.

1983: Impact of the crash

In 1983, The video game crash began to affect Activision. Third-party developers folded, resulting in retailers selling unsold games at discounted prices, which reduced Activision's income.

1983: Video game crash impacts Activision

In 1983, the video game crash, partially caused by numerous inexperienced companies following Activision's model, negatively impacted Activision's console game business. The company was forced to diversify into home computer games and acquired Infocom.

1983: High score patches through 1983

Through 1983, Activision's instruction manuals for nearly all games included instructions for players to send in a photo of their high scores to receive a patch in return.

1984: Revenue drop and staff layoffs

In 1984, Activision's quarterly revenue dropped from $50 million in mid-1983 to about $6–7 million by the end of 1984, forcing them to lay off staff, reducing the number of employees from about 400 to 95.

1985: Talent drain continues and Miller and Whitehead leave

In 1985, the talent drain continued due to the video game crash. Miller and Whitehead left in 1984 due to the large devaluation of their stock and went on to form Accolade.

June 1986: Activision acquires Infocom

In June 1986, Activision acquired Infocom through a corporate merger. The acquisition was championed by Jim Levy.

1988: Activision changes name to Mediagenic

In 1988, Activision began working on software beyond video games, such as business applications. To reflect this, the company changed its corporate name to Mediagenic.

1989: Activision publishes MechWarrior

In 1989, Activision published MechWarrior, a first-person perspective game based on FASA's pen-and-paper game BattleTech.

1989: Infocom studios closed down

In 1989, after several years of losses, Activision closed down the Infocom studios, and offered only 11 of the 26 employees a chance to move to Activision's Silicon Valley headquarters, and five accepted the offer.

May 1990: Penalty for patent infringement

In May 1990, Mediagenic faced a $6 million penalty after losing patent infringement lawsuits filed by Magnavox, due to similarities between Activision's games and Magnavox's patents.

1990: Mediagenic's unfinished football game

Around early 1990, Mediagenic was working on an early version of a football game that was the basis for Joe Montana Football. Sega of America contracted Mediagenic to develop the game, but due to internal issues at Mediagenic, the game was left unfinished and had to be completed by Electronic Arts.

1991: Kotick buys Mediagenic

Around 1991, after falling into debt, Mediagenic was acquired for approximately $500,000 by Bobby Kotick and a small group of investors.

October 1993: Activision goes public

In October 1993, the newly renamed Activision went public, raising about $40 million and listing on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ATVI.

1997: Activision acquires Heavy Gear license

In 1997, Activision procured the license to Heavy Gear, a pen-and-paper-based war game. Also in 1997 Activision's Interstate '76 was released, which used the Mechwarrior 2 engine.

June 16, 2000: Activision Reorganization

On June 16, 2000, Activision reorganized as a holding company named Activision Holdings. "Activision, Inc." changed its name to "Activision Publishing, Inc.", becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Holdings. Activision Holdings then became the publicly traded company.

2003: Game Developers Choice "First Penguin" Award

In 2003, Activision was awarded the Game Developers Choice "First Penguin" award in recognition of its place as the first third-party developer.

2006: Kotick seeks multiplayer online title

Around 2006, Bobby Kotick contacted Jean-Bernard Lévy of Vivendi to explore acquiring a massively multiplayer online game, leading to discussions about a potential merger due to Vivendi's ownership of Blizzard Entertainment and World of Warcraft.

December 2007: Activision board signs merger

In December 2007, Activision's board signed on to the merger with Vivendi Games.

2007: Activision buys RedOctane

In 2006-2007, Activision bought RedOctane, the publisher of the Guitar Hero franchise after some of Activision's properties began to wane.

July 2008: Merger completed; Activision Blizzard formed

In July 2008, the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games was completed, forming Activision Blizzard. Bobby Kotick became the head of the new company, with Vivendi holding a 52% share.

2008: Activision merges with Vivendi Games to form Activision Blizzard

In 2008, Activision's holding company merged with Vivendi Games, the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment, to form Activision Blizzard, with Bobby Kotick as CEO.

November 2009: Sledgehammer Games established

In November 2009, Activision Publishing established Sledgehammer Games. It was formed by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey.

February 2010: Activision Shuts Down Studios and Lays Off Staff

In February 2010, Activision Blizzard reported revenue losses due to declining sales of Guitar Hero and casual games. Activision Publishing subsequently shuttered Red Octane, Luxoflux, and Underground Development and laid off about 25% of Neversoft's staff.

November 2010: Activision Shuts Down Budcat Creations

In November 2010, Activision shuttered Budcat Creations.

2010: Eric Hirshberg announced as Activision Publishing's CEO

In 2010, Eric Hirshberg was announced as the CEO of Activision Publishing, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard.

2010: Sledgehammer Games assists with Modern Warfare 3

In early 2010, Sledgehammer Games was assigned to assist Infinity Ward with the development of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, due to legal issues and staff departures at Infinity Ward.

February 2011: Activision Shuts Down Bizarre Creations

In February 2011, Activision shuttered Bizarre Creations.

2016: Activision top US publisher

In 2016, Activision was the top video game publisher in the United States.

March 2018: Hirshberg Leaves CEO Position

In March 2018, Eric Hirshberg left the CEO position at Activision Publishing.

2020: Call of Duty: Warzone Release

In 2020, Activision increasingly focused on the Call of Duty franchise, including the release of the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone.

April 2021: Internal Studios Assigned to Call of Duty Franchise

By April 2021, Activision assigned all of its internal studios to work on some aspect of the Call of Duty franchise.

August 2021: Activision Mobile Studio Established

As reported in August 2021, Activision established a new studio, Activision Mobile, devoted to the Call of Duty Mobile title.

September 2021: Activision vacates headquarters and subleases office space

In September 2021, Activision and Activision Blizzard vacated their longtime headquarters building in Santa Monica and subleased a smaller office space at the Pen Factory, from Kite Pharma.

October 2023: Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard

In October 2023, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, maintaining that the company would continue to operate as a separate business within the Microsoft Gaming division. Activision retains its role as the publisher for games developed by its studios.

October 2023: Activision Blizzard Acquired by Microsoft

In October 2023, with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, including Activision Publishing, became a separate division under Microsoft Gaming.

March 8, 2024: Activision QA workers unionize

On March 8, 2024, 600 Activision QA workers in Texas, Minnesota and California unionized under the Communication Workers of America (CWA), marking it as the largest union in the United States video game industry.

May 16, 2024: Activision Announces Elsewhere Entertainment

On May 16, 2024, Activision announced the establishment of Warsaw-based studio Elsewhere Entertainment, assembled for the development of a new narrative-based AAA IP not associated with other Activision series like Call of Duty.

July 2024: SAG-AFTRA Labor Strike Against Activision

In July 2024, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) actor labor union, which provides numerous video game voice actors, initiated a labor strike against a number of video publishers, including Activision, over concerns about lack of A.I. protections.