Activision

Activision is an American video game publisher founded in 1979 in California, now owned by Microsoft.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Activision was one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world, and in 2016, it was the top United States publisher. 

Activision was founded by former Atari programmers and was the first independent, third-party console video game developer. For a short time, between 1988 and 1992, it was known as Mediagenic whilst consisting of four groups: Activision, Infocom, Gamestar, and Ten Point O. 

In 2008, CEO Bobby Kotick signed and completed a merger with Blizzard, forming the new company Activision Blizzard, which Kotick headed. Activision Publishing was a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard following the merger.

The Call of Duty series, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance are some of the notable games published by Activision.

In 2023, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in a record $68.7 billion deal, and it became a division under Microsoft Gaming.